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World Cup on top of Lycos’ 50 most popular user searches
‘World Cup’ has edged ‘Star Wars’ out of the top slot on the list of Lycos’ 50 most popular user searches for the week ended 1 June.
The term moved up from the tenth rank it enjoyed last week, while the term ‘soccer’ is a new entrant to the list at number 41, according to Terra Lycos. ‘Star Wars’, which reigned at the top of net surfers’ curiosity till last week, has now dropped to number three.
‘Dragonball’ continues to remain in the second place, and ‘tattoos’ has dropped a notch from third place to fourth. Rounding out the top five is ‘Miss Universe’ – a new entry to the list largely due to the contest held on 29 May. The Lycos 50 is compiled from 12 million queries from Internet users on the Lycos Network.
Specific player searches by Lycos indicate that Lycos UK users helped to drive soccer searches for English strikers David Beckham and Michael Owen, two of the Internet’s most searched soccer stars. The surprise this week was the Miss Universe pageant, which received nearly 20 times as many searches as last year, the highest Lycos ranking ever for a beauty pageant.
While MTV’s hit reality series ‘The Osbournes‘ did not make it to the top 50, Anna Nicole Smith did, thanks to news that she would be starring in her own reality based Osbournes like reality show for the E! Network. New entries to the list of 50 include Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart (separately at numbers 46 and 50 respectively). Pokemon at number 47, has reappeared on The Lycos 50 after dropping off the list on April 2. Prior to April, says Lycos, Pokemon made every top 50 list since August 1999 and only fell out of the top 20 once – the week of the terrorist attack on America.
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Ad:tech honours 2026: Full list of winners announced
Expanded awards spotlight winners across 22 categories as industry doubles down on intelligent automation
NEW DELHI: Marketing’s tech elite took the spotlight as the ad:tech honours 2026 returned with a sharper focus on AI, data and immersive media, signalling how deeply technology now underpins brand strategy. Held at Yashobhoomi on March 17, the second edition drew industry leaders to celebrate innovation that is reshaping engagement and performance.
Presented with the International Advertising Association India chapter and new partner Huella, the awards expanded from 8 to 22 categories, tracking the rapid convergence of creativity, automation and analytics.
The winners’ list reads like a snapshot of marketing’s future. In affiliate and partner marketing, Lyxel & Flamingo – Boat and Paytm Ads – Giva took silver. Mobavenue Media Private Limited struck gold in AI-driven dynamic creative optimisation, alongside a silver for Laqshya Media Limited.
Creative AI collaboration saw Rediffusion Brand Solutions Private Limited win gold, with Saltinc Consulting Private Limited securing silver. Laqshya Media Limited continued its strong run, taking gold in AI conversation agents and adding multiple wins across categories, including silver in GenAI-led creative and both gold and silver in interactive DOOH campaigns for Tanishq and Tata Coffee.
Predictive AI honours went to Strong Metrics and Tyroo, both silver, while Orient Bell Limited picked up silver in immersive retail tech. In GenAI-led creative, Laqshya Media Limited, Salt – Kotak and Sumimoto each secured silver, reflecting the crowded race in generative creativity.
Publicis bagged silver in influencer management and gold in performance marketing, where it shared the stage with Arm Worldwide and The Trade Desk, both silver. Glad U Came Private Limited stood out with gold in influencer measurement and analytics.
Marketing automation saw CereOne Media Pvt. Ltd. and Globale Media win silver, while ADMOTT Private Limited claimed silver in OTT innovation.
Programmatic media categories highlighted the shift to advanced targeting and connected screens. Mobavenue Media Private Limited clinched gold in connected TV advertising, with Animmoov Digital Media Pvt Ltd – Asus and Lyxel and Flamingo taking silver. Cheggout Services Private Limited won silver in retail media advertising, while Paytm Ads – Versuni secured gold.
On social platforms, Vayner Media India took gold in community and UGC engagement, with Under 25 – Oppo winning silver. Segumento rounded off the list with silver in the innovation category.
Jaswant Singh, country managing director at ad:tech India, underscored the momentum, saying generative AI and data-driven decision-making are now central to marketing impact. Neena Dasgupta, IAA mancom member and chief executive and founder at The Salt Inc Consulting, added that the awards celebrate not just technology, but “the people, the creativity, and the relentless effort behind it.”
Backed by Comexposium Group, ad:tech New Delhi has long tracked digital disruption. Now, with the honours, it is rewarding those who are not just adapting to change but engineering it.
In an industry racing towards automation, the message from 2026 is unmistakable. The future of marketing will be written not just in ideas, but in algorithms.
