Budweiser Crowns Lionel Messi the Undisputed King of Football After Record-Breaking 644th Goal with Barcelona

Deutsch New York Creates Film + Marketing Effort in Recognition of The King of Football

December 22, 2020: Today, Budweiser has crowned Lionel Messi the undisputed King of Football after he scored a record-breaking 644th goal for Barcelona. A record previously held by Brazilian legend Pele for 46 years, Lionel Messi has scored the most goals for a single club in the history of professional football – a historic feat that many experts believe will stand for generations.

To mark the moment, Budweiser has released a short film, created by Deutsch New York, titled ‘Kings aren’t made overnight’ featuring the limited-edition Lionel Messi bottle custom designed to celebrate his journey to greatness.

On scoring his record breaking 644th goal, Lionel Messi said:
“20 years ago, I began a journey determined to be the best player I can be and it has taken sacrifice and hard work to score every one of the 644 goals with the help of my teammates. Hopefully fans around the world will find inspiration in my story to commit to their craft no matter how hard the journey because everyone can achieve greatness if they believe in themselves.”

James Cowie, Deutsch NY Executive Creative Director noted “Scoring 644 goals for a single club doesn’t just prove that Messi is a great footballer. It also reveals a great deal about Messi’s character – the loyalty, ambition and dedication that have always made his journey with Barcelona so unique. Yes, Messi is great on the pitch. But it’s those values that we think are the true mark of a king.”

To further celebrate this once in a lifetime achievement, the marketing effort includes a limited run of 644 bottles, individually numbered from 1 to 644 to represent every goal scored. Each bottle will be gifted to the 159 goalkeepers Messi scored against, including greats such as Gianluigi Buffon, David de Gea and Jan Oblak. Each bottle recognizes the role each goaltender has played in pushing Messi to greatness along his 20-year journey toward breaking the record.

In September, Budweiser announced a long-term partnership with Lionel Messi, introducing the collaboration with a short film titled ‘They Say’ to inspire fans to never give up on greatness. Budweiser’s creative partner Deutsch New York created the film.

Deutsch NY “Creed + 644 Campaign” Integrated Creative Credits
Messi Campaign
Live date: Dec 22, 2020

AB InBev, Budweiser:
VP Global Brands, (Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois, Michelob Ultra): Richard Oppy
VP Global Marketing, Budweiser: Steve Arkley
Global Advertising Director, Budweiser: Andrew Oosterhuis
Global Marketing Director, Budweiser: Chad Lafeldt
Head of Global Partnership Marketing, AB InBev: Eelco van der Noll

Deutsch New York
Chief Creative Officer: Dan Kelleher
Executive Creative Director: James Cowie
Creative Director: Heather English
Creative Director: Marques Gartrell
Sr. Art Director: Jeffrey Rozman
Sr. Copywriter: Chris Wernikowski
Sr. Copywriter: Michael Philbin
Sr. Art Director: Ashley Centrella
Sr. Designer: Chris Kelley

Content Production:
EVP, Director of Integrated Production: Joe Calabrese
Sr. Producer: Andrea Segura

Account Planning:
Chief Strategy Officer: Matt Baker
VP, Group Strategy Director: Andrew Quay
Senior Strategist: Alex Rakestraw

Account Management:
Group Account Director: Andrew Arnot
Account Director: Madalyn McLane
Account Executive: Hannah Duchardt

Project Management:
Project Manager: Rich Gladis

Business Affairs:
Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Maria Taris
Group Director, Integrated Business Affairs: Stacy Schwartz
Sr. Business Manager: Nikki Balekjian

Editorial & VFX: The Mill
Production:
Executive Producer: Heath Raymond
Producer: Kevin Liu/Zach Fortin
Production Coordinator: Katharine Mulderry

Edit:
Ryan McKenna
Matt Campbell

2D:
Lead: Keith Sullivan
Lead: Marco Baratto

Assists:
Yoon-sun Bae
Kyle Cody
Taner Besen
Luke Midgley
Ben Vaccaro

3D:
Lead: Kevin Ives
Lead: Tom Bardwell
Aldo Martinez Calzadilla

Design:
Director: Chet Hirsch
Creative Director: Mario Stipinovich
Lead: Thomas Heckel
Steven Guas
Devin Hayes
Tyler Scheitlin

Sound Design & Mix – Barking Owl
Sound Designer: Morgan Johnson
Mixer: AJ Murillo
Creative Director: Kelly Bayett
Producer: Ashley Benton

Music: ‘Only One King’ Dizzee Rascal

Please contact Vonda LePage ([email protected]) to request additional information or materials from this campaign.