Adidas ad charts Messi's path to Ballon d'Or, takes shot at Ronaldo

To celebrate Lionel Messi's second straight Ballon d'Or, adidas put together a Spanish-language ad (the video's subtitles are in English) showing just how many millions of people he beat out to be the best. It's a pretty clever spot and the cartoon angle makes it pretty funny.

About 43 seconds into it, the Messi character signs a contract with adidas as the narrator says, "A big company believes in you, sponsors you and does not make you a fashion model." A character resembling Cristiano Ronaldo is shown next to Messi and it's clear adidas was taking a shot at both him and Nike.

A little revenge after Nike stole the World Cup spotlight from the tournament's official sponsor? Maybe. Either way, well played, adidas.