Riyadh Season is known for pulling off the impossible. This year saw one of the biggest crossover fights in history take place between two of the world’s biggest fighters – Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou. But what made this fight so unique and highly anticipated was both Joshua & Ngannou were heavyweight champions who made it to the top of their respective disciplines, boxing and MMA. And with both possessing devastating knock out stats courtesy their power punches, this made it a dream matchup and something the world was waiting to see. Our goal was to spark global conversation and resonate across generations, driving Pay Per View subscriptions, boosting ticket sales, and positioning Saudi Arabia as a top-tier destination for hosting world-class boxing events. So, we broke the mould of traditional boxing promos and opted for something as exciting as the fight itself.

The outcome – Knockout Chaos. The result of putting the best fighters from different combat genres in one ring. This event featuring two heavyweight power punchers, both known for their knockout records and chaos they bring inside the ring, felt just like a real-life combat sports video game of the 90’s. Where you select Player 1 and Player 2, with the sole aim of KO’ing the opponent. By tapping into this golden era of gaming with these two larger than life characters, we sparked a wave of nostalgia among our audience, as the two fighters sparked chaos every where they landed.

Boxing has been declining in popularity around the world with big fights coming in far and few. Moreover, big fighters want to protect their belt and record and don’t make it easy for challengers. Our strategy is to make boxing synonymous with Riyadh Season and make Saudi Arabia the top global destination for boxing by making these big fights between champions happen. And to generate even more excitement for the sport, promote crossover fights like the one between Joshua and Ngannou.

We realised that younger generations are more drawn to other new combat sports (like UFC and MMA). What they also engage in, and have been for a long time, are combat-style arcade and video games. In order to appeal to different generations, we wanted to tap into this trend of Gen X’s and Millennials. While also showcasing the best of that era to Gen Z’s and Alphas.

Knockout Chaos stands as a testament to the meticulous craft of music and audio production, blending modern sensibilities with a nostalgic nod to the golden age of hip-hop and arcade gaming.

Ugly Duckling's "Smack" was chosen by the director because this music with its funky breaks and carefree lyrics inherently sets a fun and humorous tone to the story.

We then remixed the song in an 8-bit style to enhance the retro-gaming scenes to give them their own soundtrack. We also employed synthesized sounds that mimic the audio hardware of vintage gaming systems, creating a distinct, pixelated audio experience that complemented the 2D animated scenes. Andy Cooper, one of the original members of Ugly Duckling, loved the idea and even re-recorded some lyrics to make the end of the soundtrack truly epic.

The objective of the campaign was to engage with the local population, but more importantly create a positive and favourable outlook with the global audience as well. While establishing Saudi Arabia as a glittering global boxing destination for hosting future events of this magnitude. The film, that garnered more than 76M views across platforms, was part of a multi-channel campaign that accumulated a staggering 2.1 billion impressions and a total engagement of over 51M. Tickets to the fights were sold out within days.

Even publications like AdAge called it “An epic ‘Street Fighter’ style ad”. And WIRED added,

“The best retro gaming boxing ad this year!”. Further confirming the campaign as a resonant and positively received compilation of work.