Leveraging its UEFA Champions League partnership through its long-running ‘Priceless’ platform, main sponsor Mastercard activated around the 28 May Champions League Men’s Final by releasing a film featuring tournament winner Lionel Messi’s boyhood memories of leaving home to play for FC Barcelona.
While this year’s final is between Liverpool FC and Read Madrid, brand ambassador Messi’s links to the tournament are strong as he is a four-time winner of the tournament.
The hero 80-second ‘What’s Priceless to You’ spot, created by agency McCann, is fronted by a digitally de-aged Messi who recalls his thoughts, feelings, hopes and doubts around his journey as a youngster from Argentina to Spain: these then and now era are blended together at the airport when Messi lands in Barcelona.
Using new VFX methods which cross-analysed archival material and historical imagery, the digital images were composited and integrated onto a real-life actor to fuse cutting-edge technology with traditional acting performances.
The creative focuses on that fact that while everyone has some doubt, when our passions drive us to overcome our fears that’s Priceless and then seeks to drive viewers online to find out more about the project and about Mastercard at http://www.Priceless.com/Messi.
Launched ahead of the Final on 12 May on the current PSG player’s own Instagram account (which boasts 325 million followers) and then across the brand’s owned social media accounts and its web platforms and supported by additional content including behind-the-scenes social spots and web-based interview excerpts.
Additional social activity will run across Europe and Latin America ahead of and during the final.
Mastercard Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Raja Rajamannar commented that the film served as an important reminder about people being able to follow their passions and to prioritize what was important to themselves – a sentiment which the brand feels is particularly resonant right now.
“We are looking forward to celebrating the global appeal of football at the UEFA Champions League final in Paris later this month and bringing fans closer to their passions,” said Rajamannar.
Messi described the technology used to create his digital self, created in harness with The Mill, as ‘amazing’ and that the film ‘gave me goose bumps’.
“I had doubts and fears to overcome to get to where I am today and, honestly, have done far more than I was ever able to imagine when I was a child. It was my passion and love of the sport that kept me going,” said Messi in a brand interview given to Mastercard as part of the campaign and posted on its Priceless website. “The game of football has given me so many ‘Priceless’ experiences and allowed me to accomplish much more off the pitch through the Leo Messi Foundation, other endeavors and the support of all the fans.”
“Mastercard and I believe in the importance of bringing people closer to their passions—connecting them to what they love. Together, we’ve been able to use football to inspire fans on and off the pitch,” continued Messi. “It’s always a joy to interact with kids. And it is remarkable how we used technology to mirror my younger self. I wish I had the opportunity in real-life to speak with my younger self to instill confidence and let him know his hard work and sacrifices will pay off and that he’s still playing the game he loves,” he added.
The campaign was created for a Mastercard marketing team which included Raja Rajamannar (Chief Marketing & Communications Officer), Monica Biagiotti (EVP of Global Consumer Consumer Marketing and Sponsorships), John McDonald (SVP of Global Integrated Marketing and Communications), Jennifer Stalzer (VP of Global Consumer Marketing), Alison Giordan (VP of Global Sponsorships and Consumer Marketing), Jennifer Ziemer (Director Of Global Sponsorships and Consumer Marketing) and Traci, Spiegelman (VP of Global Media).
It was conceived and created by a team at agency McCann which was led by Adrian Botan (Chief Creative Officer, Europe), Pierre Lipton (Chief Creative Officer, New York), Caprice Yu (EVP Global Executive Creative Director),Pebble Goh (SVP Group Creative Director), Ethan Schmidt (SVP Group Creative Director), Tatjana Gall (Designer), Aaron Kovan (Head of Production), Judi Nierman (SVP Executive Producer), Eric Johnson (SVP Executive Music Producer), Oriol Bombi (EVP Global Strategy Director), Danielle Noto (SVP Group Strategy Director), Kim Price (VP Social Strategy Director), Veronica Bertran (Chief Client Officer, McCann North America), Mat Cunnell (SVP Executive Account Director), Kate Burns (Account Director), Cara Wang (Assistant Account Executive) and Karen Phillips (Business Affairs Manager).
A group at sport and entertainment agency Octagon also worked on the project and the team included Christine Franklin (Executive Vice President), Aldo Kafie (Vice President), Mark Willard (Group Director) and Lamya Benosmane (Account Manager).
Production was handed by The Corner Shop and the director was Peter Thwaites, with Executive Producer Jay Shapiro, Line Producer Nick Sutherland-Dodd and DOP Marcel Zyskind.
VFX was handled by The Mill, with further input from No6, the Sound Lounge and JSM Music.
Comment
The football activation runs as part of technology and payments’ brand’s experience-led ‘Priceless’ platform which began back in 1997 to both showcase and offer the experience-based opportunities Mastercard can provide people with through its service.
This Messi-led Mastercard activation follows on from previous UEFA Champions League initiatives such as 2021’s ‘Fans v Facts’ and 2020’s ‘Priceless Wave’.
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