Viral Now: Samsung's football showdown with aliens

Samsung's sci-fi themed campaign featuring soccer stars Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney invites fans to participate in a virtual football fantasy.

Samsung has added a sporty touch to an otherwise over-exhausted theme of aliens threatening to overtake the Earth. Created by Cheil Worldwide, the four-minute film, 'Galaxy 11', is themed around 'Football will save the planet'. The film opens with hooded figures in football fields in major cities around the world. The mysterious figures turn out to be aliens, challenging the world to a galactic war. Legendary footballer Franz Beckenbauer is charged to lead a planet-defending team, Galaxy 11.

The squad includes Franz Beckenbauer (Germany; Manager), Lionel Messi (Argentina; Captain), Mario Gotze (Germany), Oscar dos Santos (Brazil), Wu Lei (China), Stephan El Shaarawy (Italy), Victor Moses (Nigeria), Radamel Falcao (Colombia), Lee Chung-Yong (South Korea), Iker Casillas (Spain), Wayne Rooney (England), Landon Donovan (United States), Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Russia) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal).

The "Galaxy 11 Training Video" highlights a showdown between soccer stars and aliens. The players put up a tough fight using the Samsung Galaxy S5, Gear 2 and Fit. The film smartly incorporates the features of the various devices being used in the fight.

"Why football amongst other sports? Because, we value the power of football to bring people together and unite them as a global community through their passion for the sport. Unlike most other campaigns using top notch footballers, the Galaxy 11 campaign has created a new entertainment experience based on sci-fi imagination, a football showdown against aliens," says Hoon Kang, director of global marketing at Samsung Electronics.

The campaign posted on YouTube has so far fetched 30 million views as on Monday evening.

In addition to the training video, Samsung kicked off the Galaxy 11 World Tour, a series of Galaxy 11-themed interactive studios visiting different cities around the world including London, Milan, Dubai, Shanghai and Sao Paolo. Fans will have a chance to meet the Galaxy 11 players as well as experience a virtual football practice via Samsung's mobile products.

The company has also released four Galaxy11-themed mobile games in which fans can test their own virtual football skills and even play against the Galaxy 11 team.