Huggies gives 19-year-old Messi and Lamine bath-time photo a new spin

Huggies has tapped into one of football's biggest cultural moments, reviving a nearly two-decade-old campaign after a photo of Lionel Messi bathing a baby Lamine Yamal resurfaced and went viral during the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The brand unveiled a new out-of-home execution featuring the line "They grow up so fast", referencing the now-iconic image taken in 2007 as part of a UNICEF charity calendar shoot organised with FC Barcelona.

On Instagram, Huggies leaned further into the moment with the caption, "One day you bathe them, the next day...", inviting fans to connect the dots without explicitly mentioning either the World Cup final or the viral photograph.

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The original image was taken on 31 October 2007, when a then-20-year-old Messi participated in a UNICEF fundraising calendar photoshoot published by Spanish newspaper Sport. The photograph shows the young footballer bathing a months-old Yamal in a blue plastic tub, years before either could have imagined its future significance.

Interest in the image surged in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup 2026 final, as fans drew parallels between Messi, widely regarded as one of football's greatest players, and Yamal, the Barcelona and Spain star increasingly seen as his successor. After Spain's victory over Argentina, another photograph of the pair embracing on the pitch quickly gained traction online, with many interpreting it as a symbolic passing of the torch.

Instead of chasing the conversation with a conventional reactive campaign, Huggies built on the emotional resonance of the iconic 2007 photograph. The creative aligned naturally with the brand's positioning around childhood and growth, allowing it to participate in one of the tournament's defining narratives without forcing relevance.

The activation also reflects a broader trend seen throughout the FIFA World Cup 2026, where brands found creative ways to join fan conversations without official sponsorship rights.

Levi's, for example, transformed the temporary covering of its stadium signage into a social media moment, while Norwegian Air and British Airways generated buzz through a friendly Instagram wager tied to England's World Cup run, culminating in a temporary logo swap and playful exchanges between the two airlines. Together, the campaigns demonstrate how cultural relevance, authenticity and agility can be just as valuable as official partnerships in earning attention during global sporting events.

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