Qatar Airways Enlists Messi, Suarez and Neymar for New Ad Campaign

Qatar Airways today launched a new marketing campaign in support of a three-year partnership between the airline and Spanish football team FC Barcelona.

As part of the campaign, a new TV spot was released as a follow-up to the airline’s first viral hit The Land of Barcelona, which depicted a world run by FC Barcelona players including Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez (who, thankfully, bites no on in the commercial)

Related: See Skift’s interview with Qatar Airways CEO here. 

In this ad, the players leave their island and travel — on Qatar Airways of course — around the world to have new experiences in Dallas, Seoul, the Maldives, and Paris, all destinations included in Qatar’s network. Curiously, when the players land at Seoul Incheon airport they engage in a Japanese tea service and martial arts in a tatami-lined room.

The commercial will be aired in English, Arabic, and Catalan.

The campaign builds on Qatar’s one and a half year partnership with the football team, which has including a FC Barcelona custom-designed Boeing jet, holiday packages sold through Qatar Airways Holidays Division, and a social media competition that gives fans the opportunity to win flights to a FC Barcelona match.

Qatar Airways and its regional competitors Emirates and Etihad have invested heavily in sports sponsorships as a way to gain brand awareness worldwide.

Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President of the West recently said, “We engage in sports sponsorships because we want to enhance our brand awareness, proposition and perception in markets where we will probably open an operation.”

The new Qatar Airways ad can be viewed below: