The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Advertising Lionel Messi

Five time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi's top 10 ads

Author

By Tony Connelly | Sports Marketing Reporter

January 12, 2016 | 3 min read

Lionel Messi’s fifth Ballon d’Or win has not come as a surprise to the sporting world. The Barcelona forward had a stellar 2014/15 season in which he was integral in helping his team win the Champions League, scoring a total of 62 goals in all competitions along the way.

Top 10 Messi ads

Top 10 Messi ads

His dominance on the pitch and the way he carries himself off it has made Messi one of the most sought after sportsmen on the planet with an array of leading brands paying big money to have the 28 year-old promote their wares.

Another Ballon d’Or is unlikely to increase his status simply because sportsmen don’t come much bigger than Messi. There will always be brands lining up to join Adidas, Gillette, EA, Pepsico and Turkish Airlines in having the Argentine act as a brand spokesman. How they use that platform is a different matter however as Messi’s creativity on the pitch doesn’t necessarily extend to the world of advertising.

Below are the top ads which have used the profile of ‘the little genius’ to great effect.

In this Samsung ad the Argentine appears in a post-apocalyptic town to have a kick about with some kids

In this ad for Herbalife Messi cheats in basketball to win a one-on-one game.

In this Fifa 15 ad Messi is surrounded by terrifying singing gingerbread men as he plays Chelsea's Eden Hazard at the video game.

Messi becomes a blur of lights in 'The new speed of Light' Adidas ad.

Another Adidas ad sees Messi surrounded by all his footballing achievements as if they were planets and he the centre of the universe which everything revolves around.

LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Messi compete with each other in winning the affections of a young fan in this Turkish Airlines ad.

Didier Drogba can’t escape Messi in this Turkish Airlines ad.

Lionel becomes a cricket player, ice hockey star and tennis ace in this Gillette ad.

Adidas call on players to stop trying to imitate the legend in this ‘Unfollow Messi ad’.

Messi gets the duped in a game of street football by these kids.

Advertising Lionel Messi

More from Advertising

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +