In recent days, there has been growing popularity of a video showing Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi participating in a movement called “Planet” that advocates against pollution in the tech and blockchain world.
The presence of public figures in ads with a crypto and blockchain theme has been growing a lot in recent years, hinting that this marketing technique works to attract the general public.
Let’s look at all the details together
Lionel Messi and the collaboration with Planet blockchain
Over the weekend, a reference containing a large black box with the words “Join The Planet” and the signature of superstar Lionel Messi appeared on various social media, which created a lot of engagement among the Argentine soccer player’s various supporters.
Indeed, Messi is reportedly a sponsor of the blockchain movement “Planet,” which aims to reduce pollution in the tech sector by addressing a number of social challenges.
The goal of the project is to use the power of technology to create a transparent and sustainable future, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations program
Messi’s figure is key to creating a big media impact and showcasing the values of blockchain and green culture.
The partnership began to go viral as early as mid-June when the Argentine phenom posted a video on Instagram in which he portrays himself kicking a can marked as “pollution,” with a distant billboard inviting viewers to “Join The Planet” alongside a Planet logo
Since the latest crypto post, rumors have increased about possible updates and plans by the Planet blockchain movement, which among other things also features a community token called PLANET.
The cryptocurrency, which serves no purpose other than ideally being part of this project, is listed on various centralized exchanges such as MEXC, Bitget, Gate.io, Bitmart, and Poloniex, as well as on decentralized platforms such as Uniswap and Pancakeswap.
PLANET’s price is currently $0.000061, with a market capitalization of $51 million and a trading volume in the last 24 hours of $9 million.
This is a highly speculative crypto with no concrete use case, the essence of which may explain the real reason for the partnership between Lionel Messi and the Planet blockchain movement.
Be very careful with these shitcoin trades, because 99% of the time they end up seeing their value reset to zero
The importance of public figures’ presence in causes supporting the environment
Beyond the specific case of the blockchain movement Planet and its somewhat transparent goals, it is interesting to note how the presence of public figures such as Lionel Messi in crypto-themed advertisements has increased exponentially in recent years.
As the blockchain world is extremely complex and cryptic, it is hard to imagine the general public approaching it without an incentive or invitation from their favorite superstars.
The latter act as gateways to break down barriers to access to cryptocurrency-based products, creating fertile contexts for growth for companies that choose these marketing strategies.
Lionel Messi’s main historical rival, namely Cristiano Ronaldo, is also currently in the front row for a sponsorship towards a blockchain company: in this case, however, it is not a movement as little known as Planet, but the giant Binance, which paid the Portuguese footballer to promote an NFT collection.
It is worth noting how the post published by Cristiano Ronaldo on Twitter reached over 100,000 likes and nearly 15,000 retweets, with a resounding engagement.
Other public figures have also sided with a variety of crypto and blockchain companies, obviously with a monetary offering behind them.
These include, for instance, the name of well-known actor Matt Damon, who walked the runway for a Super Bowl commercial captained by the Crypto.com brand
However, it also happens that the presence of celebrities in these contexts is viewed negatively by the crypto community, which does not like the spread of scam projects and scams related to cryptocurrencies.
An example of this is the case of Kim Kardashian, who promoted the Ponzi Ethereum Max (EMAX) scheme in June 2021.
In that case, the US model was paid $250,000 by the scheme, only to be fined $1.26 million later by the SEC.
Not exactly a good deal for the partner of singer Kanye West
Generally speaking, when confronted with advertisements sponsored by well-known TV personalities and sports superstars, there is always a need to be very careful because the danger of scams is in the air.
In the case of the Planet blockchain project and Lionel Messi’s media presence, we simply stand on alert as the whole thing seems to be legit, embracing the philosophy of environmental friendliness but at the same time condemning exposures to certain useless tokens like PLANET.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2023/07/25/lionel-messi-collaborate-planet-blockchain/