This week's marketing winners, losers and newsmakers.

Winners

Adidas: The biggest World Cup winner after Argentina might just be Adidas. The brand sponsors the country’s team, while rival Nike backs runner-up France. Adidas' Lionel Messi jerseys sold out in the wake of Sunday’s final. Adidas also drew nearly 50,000 positive social media mentions during the final, way more than other brands that ran marketing around the Cup such as Coca-Cola, Visa and Hyundai, which all got less than 5,000 mentions, according to social media listening service Talkwalker.

Messi also set the record for the most-liked Instagram post. The post, which shows him hoisting the World Cup trophy, has drawn more than 70 million likes, surpassing the 2019  “world record egg” post. 

The Messi shot was taken by Getty photographer Shaun Botterill, who told CNN that she was caught in a rush of photographers trying to capture Messi at that moment. “I almost got trapped, but just got trapped in the right place,” she said “I think if most of us [photographers] are honest, you always need a bit of luck and I had a bit on Sunday night.”

Hyundai and Apple: Both brands got favorable mentions this week when news emerged that a couple driving a Hyundai Elantra fell 300 feet into a California canyon and were able to use their iPhone 14 to get rescued. Both the man and the woman survived the fall with minimal scrapes. A new satellite feature on the iPhone, which enables users to send emergency messages through satellites when WiFi and cell service are not available, helped rescuers locate them.

Duke’s Mayo: Who needs a Gatorade victory bath when you could have mayonnaise poured over your head? That is what Duke’s Mayo is pledging to do to the winning coach of the Duke's Mayo Bowl game on Dec. 30 between Maryland and N.C. State.

The celebration, if you can call it that, is a bit of a tradition that has been a winner for the brand, at least when it comes to media attention. See some of the coverage of last year’s dousing here: 

Losers

H&M: The fast-fashion chain is the latest brand to be called out by a celebrity. Justin Bieber posted on Instagram that H&M merchandise depicting his likeness and lyrics was not something he approved. He also called the products “trash.” H&M later pulled the merch from stores. Bieber’s public shaming follows complaints by Banksy earlier this year about Guess ripping off his artwork for profit.

Netflix advertisers: The streaming giant’s ad-supported tier is off to a slow start, accounting for just 9% of new Netflix sign-ups in the U.S. during November, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, citing data from subscription analytics firm Antenna. “The new plan thus far is not moving the needle,” Jonathan Carson, co-founder and chief executive of Antenna, told the Journal. 

Epic Games: The Fortnite maker this week was on the losing end of a Federal Trade Commission ruling that will force it to pay $520 million in fines and consumer refunds for violating a children’s privacy law and tricking players into purchases, Bloomberg News reports.

Tweet of the week

Number of the week

$13: The cost of a sparkly dress sold at Aldi that has gone viral.

Quote of the week

“You can’t put lipstick on a pig and hope for a positive outcome. Clients and agencies need to align with each other on a real ‘sniff test’ to ensure that the communication is going to be appropriate, intelligent and insightful.” –Greg Paull, co-founder and principal of consultancy R3, on how companies should be marketing their sustainability efforts.

On the move

Santa Claus—he’s coming to town. 

Check back next year when Winners and Losers will return with more marketing exec moves. And, of course, our weekly look at which brands have been naughty or nice.