Lionel Messi, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, just broke Pele’s record for goals scored with a single club with a staggering 644 goals for Barcelona.
To celebrate the monumental feat, Budweiser sent 644 personalized beer bottles to all of the goalkeepers Messi scored on. Each label had the corresponding goal number printed on it, and the beer came in a custom box.
"In this game, no goal is easy"
Which is why we’ve created a custom bottle for all 644 goals Leo Messi scored. Yes, that’s 644 unique bottles.
Sent to all 160 goalkeepers Messi scored against to toast their part in making history.#BeAKing #Messi #KingOfBeers #KingOfFootball pic.twitter.com/1oCgLvQm6B
— Budweiser Football (@budfootball) December 23, 2020
That’s a bit of salt in the wound for goalkeepers, but at least they get a refreshing Budweiser to drown the memories of being bested by Messi.
.@budfootball… thanks for the beers.🍻 I’ll take it as a compliment. 😉 We have great battles over the years! Congratulations on breaking the 644 record #Messi! it really is an unbelievable achievement. Cheers! #BeAKing #ad pic.twitter.com/Rvz2kSv23B
— Gianluigi Buffon (@gianluigibuffon) December 24, 2020
It’s also a clever spin on the way we celebrate achievements. After all, the goalkeepers, for better or worse, were part of sports history, just like Messi was.
And Budweiser has been increasingly involved in the global soccer market, having sponsored the Premier League Man of the Match award given to a player each game, christening them “King of the Match.”
Something like a personalized label on a beer bottle is relatively easy to do (unlike scoring a goal on Gianluigi Buffon). And Budweiser is not an expensive beer. But the combination of the two—matched with the sentimentality of Messi’s unmatched career and the romance around soccer—leads to a buzzworthy marketing campaign for Budweiser and a nice memento for all those goalkeepers.
Even if they drink the beer.
