A powerful short film from insurance brand AXA about a women’s walking football team of cancer survivors is the most emotionally-engaging ad of Euro 2025. That’s according to new data from DAIVID, which found the nine-minute documentary-style video “Kicking Cancer: The World’s Toughest Football Team” attracted the most intense positive emotions of any ad campaign linked to the women’s international football tournament so far.
With Euro 2025 in full swing, DAIVID – an AI-powered creative data provider that helps marketers by predicting the effectiveness of their creative at scale – used its advanced content testing technology to find the campaigns that are resonating most deeply with viewers across the UK.
AXA’s film – which tells the real stories of several women’s cancer journeys and how walking football has helped in their recoveries – generated intense positive emotional responses from 60.2% of viewers, which is 24% higher than the average ad. Key emotions generated by the ad include empathy (+379% above average), sadness (+235%), admiration (+144%) and hope (+142%).
Watch “Kicking Cancer: The World’s Toughest Football Team”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut3h9dxxLY8
Despite its long running length, the ad also attracted the third highest attention levels of all the campaigns tested and 18.7% more attention in the final three seconds than the industry average. That put it just ahead of an ad from Hackney-based grassroots football team Goal Diggers FC in second spot. “Pitch In” which encourages brands to invest in the grassroots of football, attracted positive emotions from 52.7% of viewers.
EE’s “Everyone Needs A Squad” by Saatchi & Saatchi is third, with Walkers’ “Two Footballers Walk Into A Bar”, featuring England stars Leah Williamson and Lauren James, in fourth. Other spots to make DAIVID’s top 10 include Visa’s “Always In Your Corner” (joint 5th), ITV’s promo for their Euros coverage (7th) and Pepsi’s “Refresh The Game” (9th). Brands to just miss out include the BBC, Sports Direct, and Google.
Ian Forrester, CEO and founder of DAIVID, said: “In a crowded Euro 2025 field, AXA’s ‘Kicking Cancer’ stands out by delivering real emotional depth. It shows that when brands tell authentic, human stories, they can drive real engagement and brand impact. The data also shows that attention doesn’t depend on duration, but on the story. Even a nine-minute film can cut through, connect and outperform.”
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Author: The Walking Football
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