AdMiration feature: LEGO’s "Everyone Wants a Piece"

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to LEGO’s ”Everyone Wants a Piece” ad, part of their campaign for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which stars athletes Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappé. 

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to a dark room where football icons Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappé sit around a round table with LEGO’s FIFA World Cup trophy that’s nearly complete. 

The table begins spinning around and around as each other players add a piece to the LEGO trophy. 

Once it’s complete, each player holds up a LEGO version of themselves and tries to add it to the top of the trophy, as the table starts spinning faster and faster with each attempt. The table suddenly stops at a young boy who has walked up to the table as the players look at each other in confusion. 

The boy opens a secret compartment in the LEGO trophy that reveals a LEGO version of himself holding the World Cup, which he promptly snaps onto the top of the trophy. 

The ad closes with the words “Everyone Wants a Piece” before the lights turn off and the room goes dark again. A shot of LEGO’s FIFA World Cup collectible sets then appear on screen, featuring the World Cup trophy and sets for each of the featured icons, ending with the LEGO and FIFA World Cup 2026 logos.

3 facts

• This is a strong brand-building ad from LEGO that lands in the top 20% of US ads for its ability to drive long-term brand equity (Brand Impact: 81).

• The ad’s greatest strength is how distinct it is — which makes it stand out and drive great reach among the sea of brands showing up for the World Cup (Ad distinctiveness: 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm, Claimed Attention 4.1 vs. 3.9 norm, Brand Distinctiveness 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm) and helps to clearly tie the brand to the event. 

• The ad is both emotionally engaging and effective, making audiences of all ages feel a good mix of Love, Like and Laughter throughout the whole ad, which  serves to keep them engaged and ultimately convey the key message that “LEGO brings everyone together through play.” 

2 learnings

• You can effectively tell a story and land a message without any dialogue. While there is no spoken dialogue in the spot, the ad does a fantastic job at delivering a clear story and clearly conveying the connection to the World Cup through visual cues, characters and the story being told. By featuring four famous soccer players as well as a regular kid all playing with and getting into finishing the LEGO set, the spot clearly shows how LEGO brings everyone together through play — the key message they were trying to convey. 

• Celebrities can easily cue collaborations. LEGO is an official collaborator for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which was made clear in this spot not only with the logos at the end, but even more effectively through who LEGO chose to include in the ad. Their clever use of soccer celebrities Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappé as well as a storyline focused on the LEGO trophy both cue the connection with the cultural moment and show it to clearly be an ad that could only be for LEGO. This is important as it would be easy for a brand to get lost in a world of celebrity and World Cup culture, but LEGO did a great job at truly tying their brand into both the story and the event in an undeniable way.   

1 reflection

Are you showing up for big moments or events in a way that makes sense for your brand?  

LEGO’s ad is a great example of how to show up for a big event like the 2026 World Cup. 

For starters, it makes sense for them to have a role in this event because they already have established partnerships among other sporting events like F1, making this an extension that naturally fits, with their new line of collectible sets (like the giant World Cup trophy) making LEGO feel like a natural part of the tournament. 

On top of that, the ad itself has a very playful and competitive tone to it, further amplified by the music (Musical Appeal: 4.1 vs. 3.8), which brings forth the competitive spirit of the World Cup as well as what LEGO is all about — play! As some shared: "The comedy in it, the music is playful. The sports stars, the soccer fans. Everything about the ad was great", "​It was very clever and engaging to see how they represented famous athletes in a fun, toy-like way that appeals to both kids and adults" and "I liked the music and the kid winning in the end."

This approach clearly connects LEGO to the World Cup in a way that fits their brand, without getting lost in the hype.

LEGO’s ”Everyone Wants a Piece” ad and campaign of the same name was created by Our LEGO Agency and Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, featuring soccer icons competing to build a LEGO FIFA World Cup trophy, highlighting that "everyone wants a piece" of the game.

In addition to the collaboration, the campaign promotes the brand's new, buildable LEGO sets, including the FIFA World Cup Trophy and other soccer-themed collectible sets, which are available to pre-order on LEGO.com and Amazon, with a full launch set for May 1st.

This campaign also focuses on connecting soccer fans with the creative, hands-on experience of LEGO, reinforcing the brand's presence in sports marketing. 

Julia Goldin, Chief Marketing and Product Officer at the Lego Group, shares: “With these new sets we’re bringing the thrill of football to life in a way that allows fans to build, create and celebrate. We wanted to capture the essence of some of today’s greatest football players, and honor what makes them special, sparking imagination and excitement in kids and families worldwide. We know everyone wants a piece of the celebration and we can’t wait for fans to experience the joy of building their favorite football icon and share their passion for the game with creativity and pride.”

The campaign will remain active as the tournament approaches, with more content and activations anticipated to roll out in the coming months. 

This is a strong brand-building ad from LEGO that clearly communicates their place as a collaborator for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, landing in the top 20% of US ads for its ability to drive long-term brand equity (Brand Impact: 81) — which is largely due to LEGO’s position as a category leader with high pre-exposure consideration.

The ad’s biggest strength is that it’s distinctive, allowing it to stand out and drive great reach (Distinctiveness: 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm, Claimed Attention 4.1 vs. 3.9 norm, Brand Distinctiveness 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm), even among a lot of brands showing up for the World Cup — making it a spot that could only be for LEGO. 

People particularly liked seeing the soccer players playing with LEGOs, as well as how the music set a fun tone (Musical Appeal: 4.1 vs. 3.8) and many mentioned that they enjoyed seeing the kid win at the end.  

Here’s some other aspects that stood out to people:

• "I enjoyed seeing famous soccer stars having fun and playing together on the LEGO table."

• "​I liked the creative animation that turned legendary soccer players into LEGO figures. It was very clever and engaging to see how they represented famous athletes in a fun, toy-like way that appeals to both kids and adults."

• "The comedy in it, the music is playful. The sports stars, the soccer fans. Everything about the ad was great."

• "I liked the music and the kid winning in the end."

• "It grabbed my attention and was fun to see how it played out. The ending was a surprise."

• "I liked the way that the ad was filmed. I thought each player trying to put their piece on the trophy was funny."

This spot also does an excellent job at conveying new information about LEGO (New Information: 4.0 vs. 3.7 norm) as well as some key things about the LEGO brand, with 65% of respondents saying the ad shows that LEGO is “fun & playful,” while 56% say it “brings people together” and 49% say it “encourages creativity” — all important elements for building the LEGO brand.

In addition to associating lego with important category drivers, the ad also does an excellent job at effectively communicating the key message that “LEGO brings everyone together through play” which lands as clear and believable. The ad does a great job showing, not telling, this message by featuring four famous soccer players and one child all building the LEGO trophy — showing that LEGO connects people through play.  

While the ad stands out for all ages and the message lands for all ages, the ad resonates even more strongly with younger audiences (under 45). 

They enjoy it more (Enjoyment: 4.2 for younger audiences vs. 3.9 for older), find it much more relevant (Relevance: 4.0 for younger audiences vs. 3.4 for older) and they feel that LEGO delivers what they need from a toy brand (Brand Meets Needs: 4.4 for younger audiences vs. 4.2 for older) after watching the ad. 

This may be due to the fact that this age group is the most likely to collect and build LEGO sets today, with those closer to 45 remembering LEGO fondly from their childhoods.

To top it all off, this spot is also very emotionally engaging, with audiences of all ages feeling a good mix of Love (Love: 34% vs. 27% norm), Like and Laughter throughout the whole ad. 

People feel the most love when Messi is introduced in the beginning and when Messi and Ronaldo hold up their LEGO pieces. They also feel positive bursts of surprise as each new player was revealed at the table. And they feel the most laughter toward the end of the ad when all of the players start spinning the table faster and faster to try to get their piece on the trophy and when the kid comes in and puts his piece on instead.

These positive emotions throughout the entirety of the spot serves to keep viewers engaged, making them want to watch the ad from start to finish — just what a brand looking to reinforce positive associations as a category leader wants to see!

What a fun spot from LEGO that truly hypes up the anticipation of the World Cup! What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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