Messi retires: The soccer great’s ads that broke the internet

Lionel Messi, football’s greatest of all time, has said goodbye to international football, closing a 21-year Argentina chapter that produced 207 appearances, 125 goals, a World Cup and two Copa América titles. 

In his emotional retirement note, Messi wrote that the decision “hurts my soul” but that he knew it was time, adding that he had always given everything for the Argentina shirt and fought to make the country proud.

But Messi's legacy extends well beyond the pitch. For brands, he became something rarer than a celebrity endorser: a cultural shortcut. Put Messi in a campaign and brands could tap football, nostalgia, rivalry, national pride, fashion and internet culture at once.

And over the years, some of those campaigns became bigger than the products they were selling.

1. The chessboard that broke the internet

Perhaps the most obvious example is Louis Vuitton's “Victory is a State of Mind” campaign.

On the eve of the 2022 World Cup, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo appeared opposite each other over a Louis Vuitton chessboard, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. It was the first time the two football superstars had appeared together in a major advertising campaign, instantly turning the image into an internet event.

The cleverest detail? The chess position was not random. Chess fans identified it as a position from a 2017 game between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. Even Carlsen joined the conversation, describing the football rivalry as the “second greatest rivalry” mimicking the greatest. 

The image reportedly became one of the most-liked photographs on Instagram, while the fact that Messi and Ronaldo had not actually been photographed together in the same room added another layer to the campaign.

The marketing lesson: Louis Vuitton did not need to explain the rivalry. It simply placed the two men on a chessboard and let the internet do the storytelling.

2. adidas made Messi play... against Messi

If the Louis Vuitton campaign used Messi's rivalry, adidas used Messi's own history.

For the 2022 World Cup, adidas created “The Impossible Rondo”, using real footage from Messi's World Cup appearances across 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 and combining different versions of the footballer into one surreal training session. AI and VFX were used to create younger versions of Messi, complete with the different hairstyles, Argentina shirts and adidas boots from his various World Cups. 

It was essentially Messi versus Messi.

And then adidas took the idea into the real world.

After Argentina's World Cup triumph, a seemingly amateur video of a gigantic Messi billboard appearing on Dubai's Frame went viral. The footage looked so authentic that people initially believed someone had captured a spectacular outdoor execution. It was actually CGI.

The stunt generated 250 million organic views, according to The Drum.

The wider adidas World Cup campaign eventually generated 2.6 billion video views, according to the campaign's case study.

That is a fascinating advertising story in itself: a footballer became the creative device, the media property and the viral hook at the same time.

3. The ad where Messi dribbled past... his own dog

Before AI Messi became a thing, adidas was already exploiting the most obvious Messi superpower: his dribbling.

In a 2018 Nemeziz campaign, Messi demonstrates his football skills while moving through a series of increasingly absurd obstacles, including a basketball player, football players and even his dog Hulk.

The campaign went viral quickly. Sky Sport reported that the video had crossed 4.3 million views within its first 10 hours after Messi shared it. 

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A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)

The product was the Nemeziz boot, but the entertainment was pure Messi.

4. Messi's boots became a storytelling franchise

Messi's relationship with adidas has also produced something more valuable than individual advertisements: a recurring product universe around his boots.

The Nemeziz line was repeatedly built around Messi, including the Messi 15 Years Nemeziz pack in 2019, which celebrated his professional debut and incorporated details representing his career and Ballon d'Or wins.

Then came the Speedportal era, including customised camouflage versions of Messi's boots. His 2023 adidas X Speedportal boots were particularly distinctive because many of the modifications were deliberately hidden within the design. 

And adidas has continued turning his final World Cup chapter into product storytelling. In June 2026, the brand launched “El Último Tango”, a special-edition F50 collection inspired by Messi's early F50 boots and his two-decade relationship with adidas. 

It is essentially a 20-year brand partnership being turned into one long narrative arc.

5. Lay's turned the Messi chip shot into a chant

Messi has also proved he can sell something far removed from football boots.

In 2024, Lay's built a campaign around Messi's famous chip shot, creating the “Oh-Lay's” chant by playing on football's familiar “Olé” anthem. Messi appears snacking on Lay's before his teammates and fans transform the chant around the brand. 

The campaign also came with limited-edition Messi packaging.

It is a textbook example of a brand finding a small piece of Messi's football vocabulary and converting it into a brand asset.

6. Mastercard made Messi's celebrity the story

Mastercard took a completely different route.

In its 2024 Copa América campaign, “Giving Back,” Messi tries to use his Mastercard at small businesses, only for the owners to refuse payment because they want to give something back to him for what he has given football fans.

The joke works because the audience already understands Messi's cultural value.

The brand doesn't have to tell viewers that Messi is loved. The entire commercial is built around that assumption.

Messi's advertising catalogue is far larger than the campaigns that went viral on social media.

iSpot's database currently lists 114 nationally aired TV advertising campaigns involving Messi, spanning brands including Pepsi, Lay's, Gatorade, adidas, EA Sports, Qatar Airways and others.