Unveiling the Power Play: 5 Jaw-Dropping World Cup Ads, Connected TV Trends, and Sustainable Shopping Phenomena to Ignite Your Week!

Women’s World Cup ads outperform men’s

Ads celebrating the Women's World Cup are performing better than those aired for the men's tournament in Qatar last year, according to System1's Test Your Ad platform. The platform assesses the emotional responses of audiences to predict the short- and long-term commercial impact of ads, giving them a Star Rating from 1 to 5.9 based on their ability to drive market share growth.

Only one advertisement received a four-star rating during the men's World Cup last year, making it the highest-scoring ad for that tournament. In comparison, the ongoing women's tournament has produced three four-star ads thus far.

According to System1's platform, the advertisement titled 'The Pride has Arrived' by ITV achieved the highest score of 4.4 stars. The second highest score of 4.3 stars goes to an ad by Brazilian telecoms company Claro, while Nike's ad, shown in Brazil, ranks third with a score of 4.1 stars.

New research conducted by System1 and Fuse, an Omnicom Media Group sport and entertainment agency, reveals that sports sponsorship initiatives can match or even surpass the effectiveness of the top advertising campaigns in the world. This positive impact among sports fans has been coined as "the sports dividend".

An example highlighting the sports dividend is a telecoms provider Orange ad that focuses on promoting gender equality in sports. According to System1, the ad received a rating of 3.1 stars from the general public, but scored significantly higher at 4.7 stars for its potential to build a strong and enduring brand presence among sports enthusiasts.

Source: System1

Global CTV ad market forecast to reach £20bn in 2023

Connected TV (CTV) advertising expenditure is projected to exceed £20bn in 2023, indicating a 13.2% increase compared to 2022.

As younger demographics shift their attention away from conventional television platforms towards streaming services, CTV is forecasted to experience a compound annual growth rate of 10.4% over the next five years. However, the rise of CTV is primarily attributed to a redistribution of advertising spending from traditional linear formats rather than displacing funds from alternative channels like social media, as explained by Warc.

Though CTV's growth is considerable, it pales in comparison to the astonishing growth of retail media. While it took retail media a decade to expand ten times in size, CTV only managed a threefold increase in the same time frame.

As per Warc, CTV's share of the advertising expenditure market is overshadowed by other internet players. The global market for pureplay internet ads is valued at £411bn, whereas Meta alone is projected to generate nearly £91bn in ad revenues by 2023.

YouTube is projected to generate more ad revenue than the entire CTV ecosystem in 2023, surpassing it by 17.4%. By 2024, this gap is expected to decrease to 13.2%. However, the CTV ad market still faces constraints, including the fact that a significant portion of the global audience does not own smart TVs capable of streaming. According to GWI figures, less than half (45.8%) of people worldwide have access to a smart TV.

Source: Warc

Cost and trust preventing consumers from buying sustainable home products

The perceived cost and distrust in brands' green claims hold back most consumers from purchasing sustainable products and materials for their homes. According to a survey, 52% of respondents express a desire to buy sustainable options but believe they are more expensive. Additionally, 50% are skeptical about the trustworthiness of companies' sustainability claims.

Approximately 25% of consumers are unsure how to authenticate the sustainability of products or materials for their homes. Furthermore, 23% admit to struggling with the terminology used in environmental claims regarding such products. When it comes to home appliances, nearly two-thirds of consumers prioritize verifying their sustainability credentials before making a purchase. Additionally, 54% consider it essential to check the sustainability of building materials, while 53% prioritize verifying the sustainability of home furnishings.

Source: Unhooked Communications

Retail volume sales declined in July amid poor weather

UK retail sales were negatively affected by wet weather in the previous month, and despite an overall increase in total sales, the impact of inflation resulted in a decline in volumes.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), retail sales in July saw a growth of 1.5%. However, the high annual shop price inflation of 7.6% caused a decrease in the volume of sales.

The sales increase is also below the three-month average of 3.5% and 12-month average of 3.9%.

Non-food sales decreased by 0.5% on a total basis, despite higher prices driven by inflation.

According to Helen Dickinson, CEO of the BRC, slower sales were observed in July due to the deceleration of retail price inflation. The damp weather further dampened spending, particularly in clothing and other seasonal goods. Additionally, the proportion of retail sales made online saw a decrease in July. The penetration rate of non-food items purchased online dropped from 35.3% in July 2022 to 34.7%, marking a steeper decline of 6.9% compared to the same period last year (3.9%).

Source: British Retail Consortium

Gambling is the most popular sub-category of shirt sponsorships in football

Front-of-shirt sponsorships in professional football are dominated by gambling, accounting for 15.4% of the total. This makes gambling the most popular sub-sector in the consumer services category and the largest contributor to sponsorships in football, rugby, and cricket. In comparison, cricket only has 4.9% of shirt sponsors from gambling brands, while rugby has a mere 0.03%.

Starting from the 2025/26 season, Premier League football teams have unanimously agreed to prohibit gambling brands as front-of-shirt sponsors. This decision was made in April as part of the measures taken by the teams.

Content update:

In rugby, the home and garden retail industry holds the highest percentage of sponsors, contributing to 10.9%. On the other hand, cricket predominantly attracts sponsors from the manufacturing/engineering sub-sector, which accounts for 9.8%.

Furthermore, in general, the industrial sector, comprising manufacturing and engineering, has emerged as the leading category for front-of-shirt sponsorship across all sports. This sector now represents 14.5% of sponsorships across the three sports, surpassing consumer services as the most preferred category overall.

In women’s sport specifically, travel and tourism is the most popular category, accounting for 15.8% of sponsorship deals.

Source: Caytoo