For fútbol fans across the globe, this week marks the beginning of the biggest game in the world. Hint hint: 🌎🏆🏟️
As big of a competition as this is for sports fans, it’s also a major opportunity in the world of marketing. With over a billion viewers, and millions of fans pouring over social media, the biggest brands are showing up center stage to be a part of the conversation. And in Duracell’s latest campaign, we not only saw how they’re celebrating this year’s game, but how they’re earning attention all season, with a specialty ⚽️-themed campaign, starring the one and only Lionel Messi.
We sat down with Tara Monserrate, Senior Account Director at VaynerMedia, and part of the team that helped bring this vision to life, for a behind-the-scenes perspective on how exactly a campaign this monumental happens.
Q: Anybody who tuned into the Big Game 2025 🏈 might have recognized the Duracell Scientist back on the field. What inspired the team to create a “sequel” to last year’s commercial?
A: The response to our Big Game campaign last year was incredible. The Duracell Scientist quickly became a recognizable and beloved character, and we saw an opportunity to continue building that world rather than starting over. We often talk about the importance of consistency in marketing, and this felt like a chance to strengthen the equity we’d already built.
Last year, we partnered with Tom Brady—the GOAT of American football—to help introduce our “Built Different” platform. As we looked ahead to the next chapter, we asked ourselves: who is the equivalent in the world’s game? The answer was obvious. Lionel Messi has spent decades redefining greatness through his consistency, longevity, and ability to perform at the highest level year after year.
Bringing the Scientist back allowed us to continue the story in a way that felt both familiar and fresh. We went from powering the GOAT of football to powering the GOAT of fútbol, creating a natural evolution of the platform while reinforcing what Duracell stands for: reliable, long-lasting performance. It gave us the opportunity to build on a character audiences already loved while partnering with one of the most iconic athletes in the world.
Q: The World Cup is a huge cultural phenomenon and this spot capitalizes on that moment. Tell us about the vision behind tying a Duracell campaign to one of the biggest sporting events (with one of the biggest athletes) in the world.
A: What excited us wasn’t a specific event—it’s the growing cultural relevance of soccer and the opportunity to partner with one of the most iconic athletes in the world.
At its core, the “Built Different” platform celebrates exceptional performance, endurance, and reliability. Messi embodies those qualities in a way very few athletes can. He’s spent decades performing at the highest level, earning the admiration of fans across generations and around the globe.
For us, the partnership was an opportunity to connect Duracell’s product truth with a cultural icon whose career has been defined by consistency and excellence.
Q: How did the collaboration between Duracell and Messi come about, and what made it feel like a natural fit?
A: The strongest partnerships happen when there’s a genuine connection between the brand and the talent. From the beginning, Messi felt like a natural extension of everything Duracell stands for.
Duracell has built its reputation on dependable, long-lasting power. Messi’s career tells a remarkably similar story. Year after year, season after season, he’s continued to perform at the highest level through discipline, preparation, and consistency.
That alignment made the creative process much easier because we weren’t trying to force a connection—the connection already existed.
Q: Tell us about the creative process: from ideation to execution, what moments or decisions stand out? What makes this spot “built different”?
A: One of the biggest unlocks was realizing that fans already think of Messi as superhuman. Rather than simply showcasing his skills, we leaned into that perception and asked ourselves: what if even Messi needed a power boost?
That simple question led us to a creative idea that was playful, memorable, and deeply rooted in the product. We wanted to create something that felt entertaining first and advertising second.
What makes this spot “Built Different” is that every creative decision ladders back to the platform. The humor, the storytelling, the Scientist, and Messi himself all reinforce the same core idea: exceptional performance is powered differently.
Q: What ideas or goals shaped this campaign? What do you hope for audiences to think about, or remember, after watching it?
A: Our goal was to create a campaign that people genuinely enjoyed while reinforcing what makes Duracell different.
We wanted audiences to remember the humor and entertainment value of the creative, but we also wanted them to walk away with a stronger association between Duracell and powerful performance.
The best advertising creates both emotional connection and brand recall. If consumers remember Messi, remember the Scientist, and remember that Duracell is the battery built for reliable performance, we’ve done our job.
Q: This campaign is more than just a hero spot. There are social media activations, retail tie-ins and a sweepstakes competition included as well. Tell us about the creative process behind this surround sound campaign and its importance.
A: Consumers don’t experience brands through a single touchpoint anymore. They discover content on social, encounter products at retail, engage with creators online, and interact with brands across countless channels throughout the day.
Because of that, we approached this as an ecosystem rather than a standalone commercial. The hero film established the story, but every additional activation gave consumers another way to engage with the campaign.
Whether someone discovered it through social content, limited-edition packaging, retail displays, or the sweepstakes program, we wanted every touchpoint to feel connected and reinforce the same creative idea. That’s what helps turn awareness into participation.
Q: How has the campaign performed so far? Any insights you can share on views/engagement, sales, etc?
A: We’re incredibly encouraged by the response so far. We’ve seen strong engagement across social platforms, positive audience sentiment, and meaningful participation across the broader campaign ecosystem.
What’s been especially exciting is seeing how fans have embraced the creative concept and engaged with the campaign beyond the hero film itself. The conversation around the partnership has extended into social content, retail activations, and fan-generated engagement, which speaks to the strength of the idea.
Q: For the soccer fans and Messi die-hards…any fun BTS moments from working with the 🐐that you can share?
A: One thing that stood out immediately was how incredibly focused and professional Messi was throughout the entire process. No matter how many people were on set or how ambitious the production became, he remained calm, prepared, and fully engaged.
There was also a surreal quality to watching the Duracell Scientist and Messi interact between takes. It’s not every day you see one of the greatest athletes of all time sharing a scene with a fictional scientist carrying batteries. Those moments definitely reminded everyone how unique this project was.
Q: What was the biggest challenge in bringing this to life, and how did the team pivot to solve it?
A: The biggest challenge was balancing scale with simplicity.
When you’re working with a global icon like Messi, there’s a natural tendency to make every aspect of the campaign bigger and more complex. We constantly challenged ourselves to simplify and stay focused on the core idea.
Ultimately, the strongest campaigns are often the clearest ones. By maintaining discipline around a single story and a single product truth, we were able to create something that felt both entertaining and strategically focused.
Q: Out of all the surround sound activations, which one surprised you the most in terms of driving engagement, and why?
A: The limited-edition packaging was one of the most exciting surprises.
What started as a retail execution is quickly becoming something fans actively want to collect, share, and talk about. It reinforced something we often see in modern marketing: when you give consumers a tangible way to participate in a campaign, engagement can extend far beyond traditional advertising.
It became more than packaging—it became part of the experience.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to another brand marketer trying to pull off a massive sports-tentpole and celebrity-driven campaign, what would it be?
A: Start with a strong strategic truth before you start thinking about the celebrity.
The most successful partnerships aren’t built around fame—they’re built around alignment. The talent should amplify the story you’re already trying to tell, not become the story itself.
When the brand truth, creative idea, and talent all reinforce one another, the work feels authentic. And when it feels authentic, audiences respond in a much more meaningful way.
