Lionel Messi is BYJU’S global brand ambassador for the social campaign Education For All

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Messi himself runs a foundation he founded in 2007: the Leo Messi Foundation, which aims to provide children with the same opportunities to realise their dreams. Thus, Divya Gokulnath, Byju’s co-founder, wrote in her LinkedIn post “We could not have found a better champion for education than Leo Messi. Not only is he one of the best sportspersons in the world, but he also wants to make the same learning opportunities available to children across the world.” She also mentioned “It is not really surprising that the greatest player of all time is also the greatest learner of all time. I am sure this partnership will inspire millions of people around the world to dream bigger and learn better. As football fans know, with Messi on your side anything is possible.”

The news of Messi joining BYJU’S comes after the company revoked its plan to shut operations in Thiruvananthapuram and lay off close to 2,500 employees. That said, it seems the association has not been accepted by the users who have rather bombarded social media with mocking and unwelcoming reviews. Users have heavily mocked the partnership by calling it a failed attempt in reading the mind of the targeted audience and are also heavily criticising the company for its massive layoff recently.

Here’s how netizens are reacting to the Messi-BYJU’S partnership:

1. Bad optics and worse timings to come up with campaign BYJU’S !!
2. BYJU’S hired Lionel Messi as the global brand ambassador but fired ~2500 employees…
3. Am wondering who is your target market to make this post appealing!! I may be a big fan of Messi but only a face with your brand endorsement won’t compel me to take up a course from you.
4. Is there a video shoot following next where Messi will speak in Spanish Hindi something like ‘padhega India tabhi to badhega India‘
5. Endorsing Sport-person or celebrities is a really poor marketing strategy idea for a learning app. There are the best brains behind this learning app innovation & program design. Kindly think & decide, is it possible for these folks to attract parents at all? Even kids who really do well in academics, cannot be impressed with this marketing strategy.