We created an H&S branded box and asked football fans to show they have the confidence to hug who or whatever came out of it. 

There was everything from mariachi players to a medieval knight. And then, for some lucky fans, there was Messi himself. The whole event was captured on film and edited into a short movie to seed online.

Because of delays in Messi’s schedule, our time with the footballer was reduced from 45 minutes to only 15 minutes. With slick management however, the team still delivered the full experience.

Messi had exclusive rights to show the video for one day on his own Facebook page.

On the first day, it received 100,000 views. To date, there have been over 2 million views. The positive sentiment and messaging came through loud and clear, for example 'OMG! I would LOVE to HUG MESSI!'