Backyard Legends: How adidas Made History for World Cup ’26

What does it take to create work that becomes part of culture?

In this session, the team behind Backyard Legends, the campaign Rolling Stone called the “best football ad in history", will unpack the decisions behind the work and what brands can learn from them.

From Timmy, Messi and Bad Bunny to the choices that shaped the final film, this is a practical look at building ideas designed to travel: balancing iconic talent with cultural relevance, navigating global production, and creating campaigns people actively participate in.

The team will also put the internet’s theories and LinkedIn hot takes to the test to reveal what really drives breakthrough creative.

A legendary guest may even make an appearance.

• Craft takes time, but culture moves fast. How do you ensure you have trained your planning muscle to be strong enough to stay true to the brand while also being flexible and agile enough to respond?
• How do you build distinctive, rich worlds that are true to the brand and still completely ownable even when they aren't actively selling product?
• How do you make sure you keep unconventional perspectives on a 30-year brand brief in a world where GenAI is dominating the creative toolkit? (The answer is humans, obviously...)