MAM
Admen in the US exploit toilets as advertising media
MUMBAI: The loo as an advertising medium? It has not been exploited in India apart from being used as a canvas for cheap erotic art or graffiti. Of course, public toilets in India, be it in airports or railway stations or bus depots are nothing but cesspools of excreta or urine scents. Hence, they don’t lend themselves for use as an advertising medium. However, there is money to be made if some organisation chooses to use loos for ads.
In the US, toilet advertising is growing rapidly. The Indoor Billboard Advertising Association disclosed last week that toilet advertising rose 14.3 per cent as 185,000 spaces carried ads for clients. Even large national advertisers like TNT and Perrier have climbed on to the commode wave and are running campaigns.
A specialised loo advertising agency has also cropped up called Flush Media. Its rationale for existence is the 15 minutes a day that individuals spend staring at loo stall doors when relieving themselves. The pioneer of this advertising genre is a company called Zoom Media.
The agencies have been making a hard pitch as loos offer great demographic segmented ad opportunities. Ladies washrooms can be used to plug products to women; gents to gents. Ladies washrooms in opera houses can be used to target high ticket items to classy women while cheaper products can be pushed through ladies loos in public places.
Additionally, loos ideally lend themselves to humorous opportunities. For example, a media buying agency can create an ad which says “Don’t let your ad bucks go to waste…come to *** Agency and we will add scents to your dollar….”
Are Indian companies listening?
MAM
Lego brings Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Vinicius together
Campaign clocks 314 million views ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 buzz.
MUMBAI: Four legends, one frame and not a single tackle in sight. Lego has pulled off a crossover few thought possible, uniting Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior in a single campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 only this time, they’re building dreams brick by brick.
Titled “Everyone wants a piece”, the campaign features the quartet assembling a Lego version of the World Cup trophy, before placing miniature versions of themselves atop it, a playful nod to football’s ultimate prize. Shared widely across social media, the ad carries a pointed disclaimer: it is not AI-generated, a subtle but telling signal in an era where even reality is often questioned.
The numbers tell their own story. The campaign has already crossed 314 million views on Instagram across the players’ accounts, with fans hailing it as a rare, almost nostalgic moment particularly for the reunion of Messi and Ronaldo, whose last shared campaign ahead of the 2022 World Cup became one of the platform’s most-liked posts.
Beyond the film, Lego is extending the play with exclusive, player-themed sets tied to each of the four stars, part of a broader football-led programme designed to ride the global momentum building towards 2026. The idea, as echoed by the players themselves, leans into the parallels between football and play experimentation, creativity, failure, and triumph.
Messi described the sets as a way to bring on-pitch moments into an imaginative, hands-on world, while Ronaldo called the transformation into a Lego figure a rare honour, blending sport with storytelling. Vinícius, meanwhile, struck a more personal note, recalling childhood moments of building with Lego and framing creativity as a universal language that transcends borders.
The timing is no accident. With the 2026 World Cup set to run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and featuring an expanded 48-team format, global anticipation is already building. Argentina, led by Messi, will enter as defending champions, adding another layer of intrigue.
For Lego, the campaign does more than celebrate football, it taps into its mythology. Because when icons become figurines and rivalries turn into play, the beautiful game finds a new kind of pitch. one built, quite literally, by hand.
