South Africa, July 21 -- When the Fifa World Cup kicked off, I wrote about what I believed were two fundamentally different approaches to sports marketing.

Nike appeared to use the tournament as the backdrop for a broader cultural story. Its creative celebrated the occasion - the spectacle, the emotion and the global community that gathers around football.

Adidas chose a different route. Its campaign wasn't really about the World Cup. It was about football.

That distinction felt important then. It feels even more significant now that the tournament has concluded.

Two different definitions of success

The question isn't simply which campaign generated the most impressions. It's which brand felt most synonymous with the tournament.

One...