Recently, the global toy brand LEGO caused a stir when it released a promotional video featuring four soccer stars Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe.
In the video, 4 players sit around a rotating table, competing to complete the LEGO World Cup trophy. But in the end, when each person was trying to place a model of their character symbol on top of the trophy, a boy suddenly appeared, took a small model from inside the trophy and placed it on top, "snatching" from the players.
Messi shared the video on Instagram, with the hashtag: "HonestlyIt'sNotAI" (Really not AI). In just one day, Messi's post reached 17 million likes and more than 180 million views.
This advertisement caused a storm in the media and social networks, because this is the first time Ronaldo and Messi have reappeared in a joint advertising video, since the advertising photo for the luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton before the 2022 World Cup.
In that photo, Ronaldo and Messi sit opposite each other, playing chess together on a chessboard, a scene recreating the famous chess game between 2 legendary chess players Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura.
The photo posted on Ronaldo's Instagram has attracted 41.2 million likes, ranking in the top 6 most loved posts on this social network.
The reunion of Messi and Ronaldo after 4 years continues to create a media explosion. However, a new behind-the-scenes video shared on social networks has caused the truth behind the LEGO advertising video to be discussed.
According to this behind-the-scenes video, the 4 real football stars did not appear together on set. Instead, the advertisement was made with the support of stunt actors. This caused the online community to discuss excitedly about how the video was completed.
There is speculation that this video making method is similar to the photo of Ronaldo and Messi in 2022. Perhaps each player filmed separately, then used stunt actors to make the movement smoother, and then used facial reconstruction techniques to put 4 people together at the same location.
That year, Louis Vuitton posted a behind-the-scenes video revealing that Ronaldo and Messi did not appear in the same frame, the photo was fully photoshopped after each person took a separate photo. However, most fans still believe that this deserves to be considered the "photo of the century".
This time, LEGO has not officially released a behind-the-scenes video, so the exact implementation of this advertisement is still an unknown.
However, according to international media, no matter how the advertising video is made, this is still an effective campaign for the brand.
Advertisement released right before the 2026 World Cup. In the advertisement, LEGO introduced assembly models containing typical details associated with each player, including national colors, jersey numbers and hidden details for fans who understand their careers.
Ronaldo's model is built based on a "R" shaped base with Portuguese colors, including details related to his career journey and the globally famous CR7 brand.
Messi's design revolves around the "M" shaped base, combining Argentine colors and the iconic number 10 shirt, allowing fans to recreate the moments of the 8 Golden Ball winners.
