Dozens of brands are using the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a chance to cash in on themed ads, products, and brand collaborations. But the home goods giant Lowe’s is doing something unique: debuting a 10-foot-tall inflatable of Lionel Messi for fans to put in their front yards.
Lowe’s is running a series of activations for the world’s biggest soccer moment, all of which center on its limited-edition, $99 Messi inflatable, made in collaboration with Messi himself. The inflatable, which will start to pop up in a 20-foot version around several U.S. host cities in mid-May, will be available online to Lowe’s rewards members starting on May 18, followed by a limited release in select stores on May 20.
According to Jen Wilson, Lowe’s chief marketing officer, the company is planning to release only about 5,200 inflatable Messis—and it expects them all to sell out.
The reason for Wilson’s confidence is twofold: First, she says, while plenty of brands will be planning their own activations for the World Cup, not many others could even attempt a product in this niche. And, second, the move is backed up by company data that yard decor—especially personalized decor—is becoming more popular among consumers, even outside of the typical holiday windows. It’s a trend that, oddly enough, might just trace all the way back to a giant skeleton that stole the internet’s heart in 2020.
What in the world is going on with yard decor?
Over the past few years, I’ve been noticing a trend in my Chicago neighborhood. Outside the typical festive months of October through January, I’m seeing more and more holiday decorations left out in people’s yards and stylized for each new season. Oftentimes, that takes the form of a giant skeleton dressed up in a personalized outfit or performing some kind of goofy stunt.
There’s a very real subculture to back this up, and it all stems from a giant Home Depot decoration. In 2020, Home Depot released a 12-foot-tall skeleton decoration that almost instantly went viral, earning the internet moniker “Skelly.” In the years since then, Skelly has become the only Halloween product that Home Depot brings back year after year, consistently selling out to its legion of fans.
Skelly has amassed a cult-like following, and, in turn, inspired a small but committed group of decorators to keep their skeleton decor up year-round, giving them customized outfits and accessories for events like back to school and arranging them in silly poses like a staged flag football game.
Skelly’s popularity seems to point to a broader shift in how Americans view their yard space. Wilson says that Lowe’s also saw consumers’ interest in out-of-the-box yard decor spike starting back in 2020—and the trend has only grown since then.
“For us it was really this explosion of both all things mini and all things giant,” Wilson says. She believes Lowe’s was one of the first companies experimenting with products like mini buckets or mini toolboxes, which have become huge fan favorites. On the other end of the spectrum, like Home Depot, Lowe’s has begun investing in new giant animatronics, including its popular 10-foot Abominable Snowman, 8-foot Skelly-esque skeleton, and 12-foot-tall Immortal Nightwalker.
Outside of the holidays, the brand has noticed and capitalized on year-round yard trends, like the “porch goose,” a TikTok-viral concept wherein customers buy a concrete goose and dress it up seasonally—just like some Home Depot fans with their beloved Skellies.
“We do absolutely see a rising trend in outdoor decor and consumers either keeping outdoor decor up longer or participating in trends like the porch goose,” Wilson says. “It’s all really interconnected to expressing your own sense of style and culture and just being a part of something.”
She attributes the rising consumer interest in these novelty products to something she describes as “similar to the lipstick effect,” or the idea that consumers will increase spending on small luxuries during moments of economic strain.
“People still want indulgences, even if there’s a pressured economy,” Wilson says. “A larger-than-life item in their front yard is something that just makes them feel joyous, and that’s what people are looking for.”
With the Messi inflatable, Lowe’s is betting that the same theory will apply to World Cup fans who are watching the games from their homes, but want a way to let their whole neighborhood know that they’re part of a larger moment.
The Skelly of soccer
Given Lowe’s “affordable indulgences” decor theory, one of the in-house design team’s key considerations when building the inflatable Messi was cost.
“We wanted it to be under $100, particularly as people are paying attention to their wallets and obviously the rising costs of gas,” Wilson says. “When we know that the consumer is super focused on essentials, if they’re going to make this splurge, we want to make sure that it’s affordable. We typically look at engineering most of our gigantic items somewhere in the under-$300 range.”
That price constraint helped Wilson’s team to determine the actual height of the inflatable, opting for 10 feet rather than 15 or 20 in order to conserve materials and lower costs. Then, to get every detail just right, the team went directly to Messi to determine how the inflatable should look: each aspect, from the length of his hair to his beard, tattoos, and the look of his arms and legs, was given Messi’s final approval.
“We just wanted it to feel authentic and for him to be proud if he was driving down a neighborhood in Miami and saw himself outside of a home,” Wilson says. “He loved where we landed, and we’re thrilled.”
