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Video: Samsung’s marketing monster snags World Cup icons for Galaxy ad

Published Dec 19th, 2013 3:00AM EST
Samsung Galaxy 11 World Cup Ad

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Soccer fans worldwide may appreciate Samsung’s first complete Galaxy 11 promo video that was finally released, showing an entire team of renowned players that have joined forces to play a football game against aliens, who just happen to be football aficionados “visiting” Earth. Interestingly, the Galaxy 11 team is the only team in the world to field two current iconic football figures, and great rivals, Argentinian Lionel Messi and Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Samsung has posted many short teasers on YouTube since the campaign debuted on November 1, gradually revealing the other players joined Messi and Ronaldo to defend Earth under the command of coach Franz Beckenbauer, himself a European football legend. Unsurprisingly for some, Messi was the first player selected and immediately appointed captain of the team – he already starred in a Samsung Galaxy commercial in early October – while Ronaldo was the last one to be drafted.

Whether it’s a coincidence or not, with 13 players all from different countries the Galaxy 11 promotion has been released just a few months before the World Cup 2014 tournament that takes place in Brazil next summer. The other team members are also players that football fans will immediately recognize, including Alexander Kerzhakov, Landon Donovan, Wayne Rooney, Iker Casillas, Lee Chung-Yong, Radamel Falcao, Victor Moses, Stephan El Shaarawy, Wu Lei, Oscar dos Santos and Mario Gotze – strangely, there aren’t that many defensive players in that roster.

Samsung has gone ahead and set up a website for the Galaxy 11 football challenge, where it lists all the members of “the ultimate team,” while reminding visitors this is a promotion for its latest gadgets, including the Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy S4 Zoom and Galaxy Gear. The company has been spending a lot of money on marketing its Galaxy products in recent years, the Galaxy 11 campaign is a great example that shows what Samsung is prepared to do to promote its devices. In fact, Samsung may be the only team in the world willing to convince Messi and Ronaldo to work together in the first place.

Now that the team is complete, future ads will surely show Messi, Ronaldo and the gang face off against those sinister aliens.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.