During major sporting events, many companies run massive advertising campaign to reach large audiences and improve their brand equity (Gijsenberg 2014). This research investigates whether, during such events, ads that are typical of the event, typical of the product category or typical of both maximize advertising effectiveness. Prior research (Elsen, Pieters, and Wedel 2016; Pieters and Wedel 2012) indicates that typical ads of the product category perform better than atypical ads after a brief exposure (< 2 seconds). Mazodier, Corsi and Quester (2018) find that ads typical of a sporting event improve brand image more than atypical ads. Therefore, we examine the interaction between product category typicality (high, low) and event typicality (high, low) in two experiments using 24 target ads across three product categories (cars, food and beverage, and skin care). Experiment 1 used a student sample under controlled conditions in the lab where ad exposure varied experimentally between 100 msec and 5 sec. Experiment 2 used a nationally representative sample under naturalistic conditions where participants self‐paced through the ads at home. Both experiments suggest that ads atypical of both the event and of the product category are less effective than other ads after brief exposure (< 2 seconds). After longer exposure (> 2 seconds), ads typical of the event are more effective than other ads, including product typical ads. Importantly, ads typical of both the event and the product category are less effective than ads typical of the event or of the product category.