By Denny Alfonso – November 29, 2023 – 4 minute read –
It’s no secret that Leo Messi is currently the best football player in the world. When he lifted the coveted 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 presented a unique opportunity for the brands he has always been associated with, including Adidas, Gatorade, Lays, and more 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 great achievements in 2023 was extensive. Even while the eighth Ballon d’Or was still up for grabs between the “La Albiceleste” captain, his former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappé, and popular Manchester City forward Erling Haaland, the brands were already gearing up for what could be a new record for “La Pulga”.
Adidas created one of the most successful social media posts after the Ballon d’Or ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. Over 12.5 million people liked their well-crafted photo of Leo Messi wearing eight rings, each representing one of his awards. The NBA-style image recreated the iconic photo of basketball player Bill Russell wearing the 8 championship rings he won throughout his career in the popular American league. With the caption “countless memories, eight rings, zero doubts,” the post shows Messi with a sense of mission accomplished and is complemented by the story behind each piece in a second Instagram post summarizing the impressive engraved details for the rings from 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023, the years Messi won the Ballon d’Or respectively.
The creative geniuses at Gatorade didn’t want to be left behind in celebrating the captain’s eighth Ballon d’Or. This time, they manufactured 8 golden bottles, adding handfuls of dirt from the first soccer field Messi stepped on in the city where he was born. “Thanks to Gatorade for these 8 bottles that include dirt from the Rosario field where I kicked a soccer ball for the first time. A beautiful tribute 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, my friends, my teammates, and mentors. Thank you,” Messi said while sharing photos of the eye-catching gift with his 493 million followers on Instagram.
