Overview
Ireland’s advertising landscape for Q2 2026 was dominated by one global event, but the clear winner was not always the loudest. The latest Interesting Index, a joint study from The Public House, Bounce Insights and adworld.ie, finds that while FIFA World Cup creative flooded screens and feeds, only a handful of campaigns cut through and stuck in the public mind. The short version is simple: celebrity appearances and unmistakable brand assets still buy recall, but local humour and distinctiveness often buy something more valuable – cultural cut-through. See the full report on adworld.ie.
Top ten most remembered ads – quick take
1. McDonald’s Absolute Legends (winner) – celebrity-packed, highly branded and endlessly shareable. See the campaign write-up.
2. Aldi It’s Not Complicated – a continuation of the chain’s effective, locally rooted humour. Watch here.
3. Vodafone Not Every Network – memorable, but for some viewers memorably irritating because of its song.
4. National Lottery Keep Driving – strong narrative execution, though the execution has been criticised in industry circles as a close remake of a New Zealand spot.
5. Heineken Fans Have More Friends – short, crisp and directly tied to football.
6. Sky Mobile Roy Keane – a celebrity cameo that leverages personality and a clear brand fit.
7. Virgin Media Walrus Whizzer – distinctive voice work remains a powerful asset.
8. OUTsurance Real People Unreal Savings – character-led storytelling continues to land.
9. Tampax Saved My Vibe – owes its recall largely to a catchy song.
10. Tesco Mobile Same But Tesco – unexpected characters made this feel different and therefore memorable.
Why McDonald’s came out on top
McDonald’s narrowly beat Aldi for top spot by doing what most World Cup advertisers failed to do: using big-name talent in service of clear, unmistakable branding. The Absolute Legends work pairs nostalgia and celebrity with concise storytelling, which makes the ad easy to recall and to talk about – the crucial social currency in a saturated market. The campaign is covered in industry press here.
At the other end of the spectrum, Vodafone shows that recall is not the same as affection. The campaign achieved high recall, but respondents were twice as likely to label it annoying as they were other ads. That is a reminder that earworms can be double-edged – they make an ad memorable, but they can also make the brand the butt of the joke.
Local humour still pays dividends
Aldi’s success underlines a blunt point for marketers in Ireland: authenticity and cultural fit matter. The chain’s continued use of Irish-focussed humour keeps it memorable without expensive celebrity spends. For advertisers who must justify every euro, Aldi is a useful case study in efficient creative that resonates.
The originality question – what the National Lottery kerfuffle tells us
The National Lottery’s new spot performed strongly on narrative and execution, though it has been flagged in the industry as a remake of a New Zealand ad. Most viewers in the survey were unaware of that lineage and enjoyed the piece on its own merits. For media buyers and brand custodians the takeaway is obvious: audiences reward strong storytelling, but agencies and clients risk reputational fallout when work is seen as unoriginal.
Distinctive assets beat generic tie-ins
A clear pattern across the top ten is the value of distinctive assets – voices, characters, songs and personalities. Tesco Mobile’s quirky cat characters and Tampax’s catchy track show that being different matters more than being topical. By contrast, the study noted that generic “World Cup ads” as a category would have placed sixth had they been combined – a clear sign that generic tie-ins are increasingly invisible.
What this means for Irish advertisers
– Spend selectively on celebrity: big names move attention, but only if the creative preserves brand distinctiveness and adds narrative value.
– Invest in reusable assets: characters, voices and music that can be deployed across channels deliver compound returns.
– Prioritise local tone where it matters: Aldi’s continued success proves local humour beats global gloss in many Irish contexts.
– Beware risky creative shortcuts: remakes and near-copies may deliver short-term recall but can open brands to criticism.
– Measure both recall and sentiment: an ad that everyone remembers but hates is not always a win.
Numbers and methodology
The Interesting Index is a quarterly study conducted among 1,000 nationally representative respondents in Ireland. This wave was fielded in June 2026 and found that 23 percent of respondents described the ads they saw as exciting, up 6 percentage points from the previous wave and 4 points up from the previous summer. Full coverage and the original analysis are available on adworld.ie.
For marketers and media buyers planning the second half of 2026, the message is straightforward: in a crowded World Cup market, do not assume that presence alone will buy resonance. Distinctive creative and cultural fit remain the most reliable routes to recall and to the kind of goodwill that pays dividends beyond the next airing.
