MAM
Gracenote debuts CTV ad platform for true program-level precision targeting
INDIA: Nielsen’s Gracenote has launched Content Connect, a new platform that promises to drag connected-TV advertising into a more precise, program-level era. The tool gives agencies, brands, SSPs and DSPs direct access to Gracenote’s standardised metadata, enabling sharper targeting, tighter control and more transparent reporting across CTV campaigns.
The system lets media buyers build private-marketplace and programmatic-guaranteed deals themselves or activate them through partner platforms. At its core sits Gracenote’s proprietary content-ID graph: a structured taxonomy of programmes tied together with unique identifiers, giving both buyers and sellers a common language across a fragmented CTV landscape.
“With access to content-based signals that power smarter targeting and better performance, we’re giving advertisers transparency, control and scale across all CTV platforms,” said Gracenote VP of product Kanishk Prasad.
By exposing signals such as genre, mood and rating, the platform allows program-level bidding while protecting brand safety and user privacy, a balance that has long challenged CTV advertisers.
Gracenote, already embedded across major entertainment platforms through its TMS IDs, will showcase Content Connect at CES from 6–8 January 2026 on an appointment-only basis.
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.
