Football legend Lionel Messi has ditched his Paris Saint-Germain kit for Louis Vuitton as he stars in his first solo campaign for the fashion house’s ‘Horizon’s Never End’ campaign.

Following the success of the 2022 viral Louis Vuitton campaign featuring football legend’s Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – which was released ahead of the World Cup last November – it would appear that Messi has prevailed as the champion as he steps out as the solo star of this latest campaign.

Messi can be seen suited, booted and striking poses in various airport locations, while accompanied by his Horizon suitcase and LVMH accessories in a series of photos taken by photographer and filmmaker Glen Luchford.

Louis Vuitton’s Horizon line has been a popular choice among high-end traveler’s since its inception. But while Messi can certainly count himself among the ultra high-worth traveler category, his choice at pitchman isn’t groundbreaking. He collects endorsement checks from Pepsi, Adidas, Gatorade, and Hard Rock Cafe (where he has a hamburger named after him), among others.

Over the past ten years however, we’ve witnessed a massive shift in societal attitudes toward representation in advertising, with a survey by Statista showing 42% of Americans want to see more racial diversity in advertising. A further study conducted by Microsoft also showed adverts with more inclusivity led to a huge 23 point increase in purchase intent, regardless of whether or not the person viewing the ad was personally represented in it.

Given these findings, it’s a bit disappointing that LVMH didn’t think beyond the obvious for a spokesperson for this campaign.