The sportswear giant launched a short but substantial commercial to run on social channels. The ad features Messi playing face-to-face with himself in his different facets as he played in the four World Cups that preceded the current one — including the Leo Messi with unruly hair who was full of dreams in Germany 2006, when he was already being compared to the late and legendary Diego Armando Maradona.

The same man who led his country’s national team to glory in CONMEBOL tournaments carried the national team on his shoulders in South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018. For this reason, the advertising team at Adidas wanted to pay tribute to the 35-year-old soccer phenomenon.

“All those memories. In our family, the impossible is what we do,” reads the post on the Adidas social media page. It’s the same post that was later replicated by Lionel Messi to his 388 million followers on Instagram.

Magic through time

The Adidas commercial uses CGI technology to show the five versions of Messi making passes to each other on the pitch and giving each other advice on the field.

In the images, viewers see Messi facing himself with his particular haircut and the Adidas jersey and boots corresponding to each moment — a story that, in seconds, covers about 18 years and five World Cup tournaments.

Experts said an artificial intelligence technique was used where the different versions of Messi were shown without aging. Body doubles were also used for the sequence to be put together, they said.

In the ad, fans see the 18-year-old Messi before he is called by former coach Jose Pekerman for the World Cup in Germany. That Messi makes a pass to his 22-year-old version, the one in South Africa in 2010, when he won his first Ballon d’Or and was already considered the best striker on the Barcelona team. Then the Messi of Brazil 2014 enters the scene, an experienced player and finalist of the Carioca World Cup, where he proved to be the best player in the competition. This version makes a pass to the Messi of Russia 2018.

The sequence happens in a matter of seconds, with the theme “Live is Life” from the band Opus in the background.

Last, the Leo Messi of Qatar 2022, who continues to dream of lifting the World Cup, enters to join the training with his previous versions.

The ad, which went viral on social networks, precedes the “The Family Reunion” campaign that features international soccer stars including …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron