Messi’s Más+ Ignites a Global Football Showdown

Football icon Lionel Messi has launched ‘The 1v1 World Crown’ - a global 1v1 football tournament that marks the cultural debut of his new performance hydration brand, Más+ by Messi.

The experiential campaign is a global call-to-compete in a 1v1 football tournament backed by the GOAT himself, Messi. Kicking off in August, ‘The 1v1 World Crown’ will activate live qualifiers in Los Angeles on 2nd August, followed by Toronto on 16th, London on the 23rd, Dublin on the 6th September and culminating in a final in Miami on 19th September. At each event, self proclaimed local ‘ballers’ can sign up for a shot at global recognition, with the final judged by Messi himself.

‘The 1v1 World Crown’ is the first global campaign for Más+ by Messi and a bold step away from traditional product endorsement. At the centre of the campaign is a hero social film featuring Messi not as just an endorser, but as the gatekeeper of a new world where the next generation of greatness can rise through 1v1.

The campaign was teased earlier this week when shots of Messi carrying a mysterious gold box around Miami were seeded to influencers - an idea created by global challenger network VCCP.

The bold campaign was created by Más+ by Messi’s global creative agency of record VCCP and brought to life by VCCP’s global content creation studio Girl&Bear, with experiential led by VCCP’s retail and experience team. Consumer PR was led by VCCP and web design was led by digital experience agency Bernadette. Event management and production was led by Messi’s new production company 525 Roasario. VML led on UX for the website and CRM comms plan.

The campaign has been designed to earn attention organically: throughout the campaign, real-time content will be leveraged, including social-first films and bespoke graphics, amplified by influencer content.

Sophie Van Ettinger, vice president global brands at Mark Anthony Group said, “We didn’t want to just show Messi. We wanted to build a world that reflects what he stands for. ‘The 1v1 World Crown’ is pure football energy. This is a brand launch that gives power to the people who play, not just those who watch.”

Julian Douglas, group CEO at VCCP, added, “Messi is the greatest 1v1 player of all time, and his new hydration drink, Más+, is here to fuel a new generation of ballers. So we didn’t want to do just another product ad. We built a world fans can step into, with real events, real cities, and real stakes. ‘The 1v1 World Crown’ isn’t just a campaign. It’s game on.”