'Wait... what?' Lionel Messis new ChatGPT World Cup partnership feels like marketing written by AI for people who dont watch soccer

Date:
Thu, 11 Jun 2026 11:20:26 +0000

Description:
OpenAI's first major football marketing campaign stars Lionel Messi, but it feels more like a corporate AI pitch than a celebration of the world's most popular sport.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Lionel Messi is, without doubt, a living legend of the beautiful game. The striker was the star player of the Argentina team that won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Beloved by fans and admired by players around the world, he's a popular and likeable star who
many consider to be the greatest footballer of all time.

Which is exactly what OpenAI must have been thinking when it signed him up to help promote ChatGPT just before this year's World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have had much idea what to do with him. Or at least that's the impression I got from its latest Instagram reel: Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)

A photo posted by on Apparently Messi is going to "explore how AI can help fans experience football in new ways throughout the tournament season." So, this first clip of him discovering that ChatGPT can make his hair look like the colors of his home country's flag is only the beginning of his journey into corporate AI brand promotion.

AI companies, like many companies that have very quickly turned into global consumer brands, can feel oddly disconnected from the culture they're trying to enter when they produce marketing. None of this really feels like it has much to do with football or football fans. You may like I got scanned by
FIFAs World Cup VAR tech heres what its like to become a digital twin What people confessed to me about using ChatGPT surprised me OpenAI takes steps to reduce teaser-style phrasing in ChatGPT responses

The text accompanying the Instagram post states: "Upload your photo then copy and paste this prompt: 'Make my hair the colors of my country flag but keep
it natural-looking. If no country or image is provided, ask.'"

So, the idea is that you can try this yourself and join in. Get daily
insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Looking through the comments, it's clear the campaign has caught plenty of people off guard. The first comment is "Wait.. what?", then later "How did they convince him to do this ". Most fans would probably be happier actually wearing their country's colors I think the ad misunderstands why people
follow football in the first place. Football (or soccer, for American
readers) fandom is tribal, emotional, irrational, and deeply human. OpenAI's pitch is essentially: "Use AI to imagine yourself wearing your country's colors."

Most fans would probably be happier actually wearing their country's colors.

Using ChatGPT for this feels detached from what supporters actually do.
Before a match, fans gather in pubs, wear shirts, paint their faces, argue about team selections, sing songs, and obsess over tactics. Is anybody really sitting around thinking: "I wish I had an AI-generated version of myself with hair that looks like my national flag"?

Maybe some people will enjoy it. That's fine. But if this campaign is meant
to demonstrate how AI can deepen our connection to football, it feels like an odd place to start. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/chatgpt/wait-what-lionel-mes sis-new-chatgpt-world-cup-partnership-feels-like-marketing-written-by-ai-for-p eople-who-dont-watch-soccer


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)