China News Service, February 20 (China News reporter Zuo Yuqing) On the evening of February 19, Messi responded to the incident of not playing in the Hong Kong exhibition match for the third time.
On his personal Weibo, Messi posted a video saying that it was not because he did not want to participate for other reasons, but because he had adductor muscle inflammation and was at risk of aggravating the injury, so he could not play. Messi also emphasized that he has "special feelings" for Chinese fans and hopes to meet again soon.
On February 4, Messi missed the Miami International Club's exhibition match in Hong Kong, China, but played in the Japanese exhibition match three days later, which continued to attract attention. After the incident, all major brands endorsed by Messi remained silent. However, in mid-January, Chishuihe Wine, which had just officially announced Messi’s signature liquor, could not escape questioning from netizens and was asked to terminate its contract with Messi: “ Hurry up and end the endorsement!" "Hurry up and remove the Messi advertisement from the high-speed rail."
China News Finance has noticed that the Chishuihe Wine JD self-operated flagship store cannot be retrieved on the JD platform. However, through previous browsing history inquiries, it was found that all products in its store, including Messi’s signature blessing items, have been removed from the shelves.
The self-operated flagship store of Chishui River Wine on JD.com is no longer searchable, and all products in its store, including Messi’s signature and blessing items, have been removed from the shelves. Screenshot taken from the e-commerce platform.
According to a previous report by China Business News, the customer service of Chishuihe Wine JD.com’s self-operated flagship store stated that the products were taken off the shelves during the Spring Festival holiday and were somewhat affected by the Messi incident. However, the customer service staff asked whether Messi would still be used as a spokesperson. The response is not yet clear.
On February 20, when Zhongxin Finance asked again, customer service had avoided talking about Macy's, saying only that "the store's products are currently in the process of adjustment and optimization, and the release time will be based on specific announcements." However, its store automatically pushes The brand introduction still has the words "Join hands with Messi".
Sino-Singapore Finance's inquiry found that the official Weibo and Douyin accounts of Chishui River Wine have all cleared Messi-related content, and only Weibo has a Weibo post co-created with Messi. The update of its official WeChat public account stayed on February 6, with a poster of Messi included in the article.
Chishuihe Wine’s official Weibo only has one co-created Weibo with Messi, and all other Messi-related promotional Weibos have been cleared. Screenshot from short video platform.
As a well-known star, Messi's commercial value has attracted much attention from brands. The 2023 global athlete income list released by "Forbes" magazine shows that Messi ranks second with US$130 million, with on-field salary income of US$65 million and off-field commercial income of US$65 million. In addition, Messi is also the spokesperson for brands such as Pepsi, Budweiser, and Jitu Express.
Chishui River Wine has undoubtedly spent a lot of money on inviting Messi to promote it.
On January 11, Messi officially announced on his blog that he was joining hands with Chishuihe Wine. Messi's personal Weibo post stated that the Chishui River wine signed by Messi and blessed will be officially released on the same day, with a global limited edition of 10,000 pieces. It was accompanied by a promotional video of Messi signing the wine bottles one by one.
Chishuihe Jingdong's self-operated flagship store introduced that the Chishuihe wine signed by Messi is a 53-degree Maotai-flavor liquor. Each bottle is 500ml. A single bottle is priced at 1,499 yuan, and a box of 6 bottles is priced at 6,600 yuan. The bottle price is directly benchmarked against Feitian Moutai’s market guide price. Customer service once told Sino-Singapore Finance that the signature on the bottle was a rubbing of Messi's autograph, not an autograph like in the video. A search by Zhongxin Finance found that the non-signature version of the same wine sold in the store is priced at 1,099 yuan. This means that consumers obtained Messi's printed signature at a premium of 400 yuan.
At the same time, Chishuihe Wine also placed Messi endorsement advertisements on highways and media platforms in some provinces.
Chishuihe Wine has placed Messi endorsement ads on highways in some provinces. Photo courtesy.
Although "Messi selling wine" has caused controversy among netizens, it has undoubtedly allowed Chishuihe Wine to use Messi's IP to gain a lot of presence in front of the public.
Sino-Singapore Finance noticed through previous collection records that more than 500 people have commented on the product page of this liquor, and some netizens have posted autographed jerseys limited to the top five buyers of 10 boxes or more. According to the pricing of this product, it costs at least 66,000 yuan.
On the second-hand platform, some netizens are currently listing the autographed jersey that Messi got at the signing ceremony with Chishuihe Liquor, asking for 48,888 yuan. (over)