The World Cup brief that anyone can win
Highlights
ExpressVPN is skipping the ad agency and handing its FIFA World Cup 2026™ campaign to creators. Artlist's network is where it's happening — and the prize is Times Square plus tickets to the Final.
Not many briefs come with World Cup Final tickets, but ExpressVPN has launched the Big Ad Contest, a global competition open to any creator with an idea and access to AI tools. Make a 30-second AI-generated ExpressVPN ad, submit it, and if it wins, it runs on a Times Square billboard during the World Cup tournament. Oh, and you go to the Final.
The challenge is being offered to Artlist's creator community, so if you've been looking for a reason to finally put those AI tools to work, this is a pretty good one.
Prizes are given to the top 5 ads, so there’s plenty at stake, not just the top spot.
- 1st — 2x tickets to the World Cup Final + your ad on a Times Square billboard
- 2nd — 2x Semi-Final tickets
- 3rd — 2x Quarter-Final tickets
- 4th — 2x Round of 16 tickets
- 5th — 2x Round of 16 tickets
Why AI, why now
What once required a production crew, a studio, and a six-figure budget can now be built by one person with the right tools and a strong idea. ExpressVPN is putting that to the test
Their core product is about digital freedom: navigating the internet on your own terms, without barriers. Handing the creative brief to the community is an extension of that same thinking. There are no restrictions on which AI tools you can use, whether AI video, image, voiceover, or music. The only requirements are that it’s made with AI, is 30-seconds long, and communicates a clear ExpressVPN message.
What makes a winning ad?
The award-winning in-house creative team at Artlist is producing multiple ads made with AI every week, most notably their Super Bowl commercial, which recently won Gold in AI at The Drum Awards this year. Take a look here to understand the level of execution to aim for, plus some tips from the team.
- Lead with the human, not the tech: Show what it feels like to have control over your digital life. Focus on the person, not the feature.
- Be visually ambitious: First place runs in Times Square. Design for that scale and make every frame worth stopping for.
- Tell a story, not a feature list: Thirty seconds is enough for a beginning, middle, and end. A narrative arc will always land harder than a product rundown.
- Use AI boldly, not safely: Make something that couldn't exist any other way. Motion, voice, music, visuals — go all in.
- Keep ExpressVPN front and center: Creative risk is encouraged, but the brand should never get lost. Their core message of privacy, security, and digital freedom should be woven through the whole piece, not dropped in at the end.
- Be unexpected: The entries that will stick are the ones that approach the brief from an angle nobody saw coming.
Start creating on Artlist
Artlist's AI-powered tools are built for exactly this kind of brief. You can create a track that builds tension and releases on the brand reveal, use sound that supports powerful AI visuals, and generate realistic voiceover that doesn't sound like a robot reading a script.
The best entries will be the ones where every element works together, music, sound, voice, and visuals pulling in the same direction. That's what Artlist was built for.
Explore Artlist's AI tools and start building →
Who’s judging?
The panel includes Nas Daily, one of the world's most influential content creators and digital entrepreneurs, Liran Friedman, VP of Brand Marketing, Artlist, Adva Navon, Industry Manager, Google, and Erez Strauss, Creative Director at ExpressVPN.
The judges understand both craft and distribution, as well as what makes something good and what makes something travel.
How to enter
Make an ExpressVPN ad that captures the brand's spirit of privacy, security, and online freedom. Make it unforgettable.
Make sure to share your ad on Instagram\X with #ExpressVPNbigad. Add a link to the 30-second AI Instagram Reel or X post at thebigadcontest.com before the June 29 deadline.
The contest is open globally and is free.
