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After 16 years of educating countless consumers about the importance of being properly insured, Professor Burke has traded in his suit and tie for a lei, sunglasses, and fruity drinks served up in coconuts. The Farmers Insurance spokescharacter, played by actor J.K. Simmons, is officially in retirement.

Any global event, whether sport or entertainment, creates the same temptation for brands to prioritise presence over purpose. But the biggest lesson from this World Cup is not that brands need to shout louder, it is that promotional activity performs best when it reflects how people actually experience the tournament.

The brands that succeed over the next decade will be the ones that rediscover the simple truth of why they exist, and stretch towards the dream of how they can add more to the world, then express that clearly and consistently in everything they do.

When agencies are able to demonstrate likely outcomes before campaigns launch, conversations become less speculative and more evidence-based.

The lesson: product demonstrations are a legitimate way to show off AI capabilities, but they must accurately depict what ordinary consumers will actually experience.