Messi meets Dhoni in Lay’s next ‘No Lay’s, No Game’ ad

They say food can bring the unlikeliest people together. That might explain how Ms Dhoni, Indian cricketing legend, and Lionel Messi, a footballing god, whose home country of Argentina and continent of South America are pretty much alien to the game of cricket, find themselves in the same ad. The bridge? Lay's chips. 

In the latest edition of No Lay’s, No Game, the PepsiCo-owned chips brand has pulled off the unexpected collab – it is not out yet, but the teasing promotions are, of course.

A teaser shows Messi juggling a ball on his feet and then passing it to Dhoni, both holding a pack of Lay’s in their hands; the footballer is holding the Simply Salted variant, while Dhoni has the green-coloured American Style Cream & Onion flavour in his hands. 

Interestingly, both are also wearing Adidas-branded outfits; a subtle but likely deliberate alignment, given Messi’s long-standing association with the brand since 2006.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lay's India (@lays_india)

The timing is opportune considering the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), where Dhoni has returned to captain the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), much to the pleasure of the lakhs and lakhs of his and CSK’s supporters.

Only last month, Lay’s had Dhoni and actor Ranbir Kapoor launch three limited-edition global flavours – Korean Chilli, Mexican Salsa, and Mediterranean Pizza – to target Gen Zs during the IPL. Now, pairing Dhoni with Messi adds a global layer to the campaign and plenty of buzz.

No Lay’s, No Game was a global marketing campaign designed to emphasise the chips brand’s role while watching football. Launched in 2023, it was aimed at the UEFA Champions League, one of the — if not the — world’s most popular club tournaments.

The campaign so far has featured footballing superstars like Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi, David Beckham, and Alexia Putellas.

One of the campaign’s most popular ads came in 2024 starring Beckham and Henry, where the latter ate all the Lay’s right before a game. So, the two tweaked the ‘fan cam’ into a ‘Chip Cam’ — those appearing on the jumbotron with Lay’s got to see the match with the two legends.

Also, Henry, in a fan engagement exercise, visited fans’ homes in Barcelona and chose to watch a game in those homes with a Lay’s at hand, reinforcing the relationship between the brand and match time.

Lay’s India executed a similar exercise with Dhoni in 2023 when he signed up with the brand. Conceptualised by Leo Burnett India, it was for the 13th ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

Venturing No Lay’s, No Game into cricket was strategic because, after football, cricket is one of the most watched and followed sports in the world, enjoying a near-divine status in India.

Seeing our cricketers share space with athletes from other sports is fun. The Messi and Dhoni collab is not the first of its kind. One is taken back to 2018, when Virat Kohli and Cristiano Ronaldo were seen in an ad for American Tourister. It was a rare but memorable cross-sport brand moment.

With Messi and Dhoni now appearing together, Lay’s may have pulled off its biggest cultural crossover yet, one that brings football and cricket fans to the same snacking table.