After an agonizing 4 year wait, the 2014 FIFA World Cup finally begins today with a Brasil vs Croatia opening match in São Paulo. So much has changed since the 2010 South African tournament that culminated with “La Furia Roja” lifting their first trophy.

My passion for global marketing and advertising has grown exponentially since the last World Cup. I’ve realized that the world is filled with brilliant, creative and innovative marketers.

With the the introduction of apps, social media and constantly evolving technology; we are in for countless marketing surprises throughout the 32-day tournament.

As an ode to Grantland’s The Wire Smacketology, I created a way to take a closer look at World Cup Marketing Campaigns. A 2014 World Cup Tournament edition, featuring the world’s most creative marketing companies and executives.

The Full Bracket (Minus the “Mysterious TBD” Group H) can be found here:

Although, I enjoyed reading James Cooper’s Digiday World Cup ad “Sweet 16”, his flaw was selecting the best 16 campaigns before the games kicked-off.

I will give all chosen participants at least one week to make noise and advance to the knock-out stage. I will monitor social channels as well as total impressions. Finally, I tried to include a majority of FIFA’s official sponsors and partners.

Explaining the Groups:

Group A: “A Dream Group” featuring Diageo, P&G, ESPN & Univision.

At some point, I envisioned working with the 4 companies listed in Group A. I was not a fan of ESPN’s “Blind Date” ad but they should be considered the early favorites in this group.

Group B: The “Beer Group” features Budweiser, Coors Light, Cristal and Heineken. This group will be Fun to watch. Although Budweiser is an official partner of FIFA World Cup, Cristal’s #chilemetemiedo should be considered an early dark horse and could surprise everyone. We can’t forget the outstanding job done by Heineken throughout the UEFA’s Champions League. Is the stage set for an early upset?

Group C: The “Car Group” of VW, Ford and Toyota are set to battle official partner Hyundai in this tight group match-up. Great initial move by Hyundai as the Team buses were shown all week arriving to and from practices.

Group D: The “Deportes Group” is The Group of Death! Puma, Nike, Adidas and Under Armour oh my. Although, Under Armour have almost no chance of advancing their place in Group D was secured after this inspiring story. Kudos to Amanda O!

Group E: The “Electronics Group” features Sony, Apple, Movistar and this week’s best ad by marketing genius Beat by Dre.

Beats by Dre made Worldwide Headlines with this Neymar Ad

Group F: The “Food Group” comes in with McDonald’s, Mondelez, Pizza Hut and Dominos. Again, Mickey D’s is a hands-down favorite to advance (just like Argentina) based on their partnership with FIFA.

Group G: The “Good Stuff Group” Pepsi, Go-Pro, VISA, Coke has 2 official FIFA Sponsors in VISA and Coke. Will a great Marketing Campaign help Coke’s recent lackluster sales?