After a 16-month wait, Tata Motors got Lionel Messi in the driver's seat

When you intend chasing the world's most gifted footballer, you have to observe strict protocol, even if the player himself is endearingly shy.

Delna Avari, head, marketing communication and services, passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors, reveals it took about 16 months to sign up Lionel Messi for a two-year-deal.

The process began with Avari reaching out to Pablo Negre Abello, Messi's manager, through a common friend. Abello's first response to the proposal: we would like to know more. "He (Messi) was also looking at a big, mass entry in India," reveals Avari.

Eventually, the contract was signed. But with the possibility of a tie-up with Messi being top secret, it was preceded by an informal pact of silence between the three people who were in the know of things.


A still from the TVC

Only Avari, the group chairman Cyrus Mistry and Mayank Pareek, president — passenger vehicle business unit, knew about it.

"We did not even take his name (during internal talks). We called him "him" or "LM"," says Avari.

The auto company's team did not meet Messi till the day of the shoot in Barcelona. "On that day, the guy actually drove himself, no drama at all," Avari says. "He was practising in the morning, he came from there wearing denim shorts and a white T-shirt. He got a friend along, who thankfully spoke some English and had seen a Bollywood movie. It was a great way to break the ice. The friend asked me if I spoke Spanish. In the little bit Spanish that I speak, I said ‘Yes of course', and Leo smiled." Messi might not have known much about the company directly, but he already drives a Range Rover. "In fact, he drove himself to the shoot location (in Barcelona) in his Range Rover," says Avari, who was very strict that no one else but she talked to him on the sets. "We all know he is shy and doesn't speak English. We wanted to make sure he doesn't feel uncomfortable." As per the deal, the brand has two days worth of time with Messi. The first day featured a four hour shoot. The second day will be made available in March or April.

There were certain specifications at the shoot. "It was like a drill," says Avari. "People he shot the TVC with were the same people he had shot with before. The grass had to be a certain type so that he didn't hurt himself."

At the end of the shoot, the core team was permitted to take pictures with Messi, but only on the official camera of the production team. "Except Mayank Pareek, who was allowed to use his phone to take a selfie with Messi," says Avari.

Avari says Messi's chances of visiting India are not very bright in the immediate future. "It is in the plan, but is it in the plan in the near future? No," she says.


Mayank Pareek, president, Tata Motors



Delna Avari, Tata Motors