By Denny Alfonso • 29 Noviembre 2023 • 4 min read •
It’s no secret that Lionel Messi is currently the best soccer player in the world. When he lifted the prestigious World Cup in Qatar, many were betting on his eighth Ballon d’Or, and once again, the Argentine achieved it.
Winning the World Cup for Argentina, it presented a unique opportunity for the brands to which he has always been associated, among them Adidas, Gatorade, Lays, and most recently the Cirque Du Soleil Messi 10 show, inspired by his glorious career on the field.
The build-up for the marketing teams behind each of these brands to take advantage of Messi’s significant achievements in 2023 was vast.
While the eighth Ballon d’Or was still at stake between the captain of “La Albiceleste,” his former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappé, and the popular Manchester City forward Erling Haaland, the brands were already revving up for what could potentially be a new record for “La Pulga.”
The Lord of the Rings
Adidas catapulted one of the most successful social media posts after the Ballon d’Or ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. More than 12.5 million people liked their well-crafted photo of Lionel Messi wearing eight rings, each representing one of the awards. The NBA-style image recreates the iconic photo of basketball player Bill Russell wearing the 8 championship rings he earned throughout his career in the popular American league.
With the text “countless memories, eight rings, zero doubts,” Adidas’ post which Messi posing with a sense of accomplishment is complemented by the story behind each of the pieces in a second post, also on Instagram, that outlines the impressive details engraved for the rings in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023, the years in which Messi won the Ballon d’Or respectively.
The secret of the bottle
Other creative geniuses who did not want to be left behind in celebration of the captain’s eighth Ballon d’Or were those from the Gatorade team. This time, creating 8 golden bottles, each containing handfuls of dirt from the first soccer field Messi stepped foot on in the city where he was born.
“Thanks to Gatorade for these 8 bottles that include soil from the Rosario field where I kicked a soccer ball for the first time. A beautiful homage to all the effort and sweat I put into my career. I want to share the other 7 bottles with those who helped me get to where I am today: My family, friends, teammates, and mentors. Thank you,” Messi says when sharing photos of the flashy gift with his 493 million Instagram followers.