Knockout Chaos was a global integrated campaign specifically created for the purpose of promoting the fight between two heavyweight juggernauts, Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou. This was going to be a fight a lot of people were dreaming off because they were both from different fighting disciplines, namely Boxing and MMA. With a boxing event of this magnitude, Riyadh Season 2024 needed to hook fans in every corner of the globe and cut across generations. Boosting Pay Per View subscriptions and increasing ticket sales, while establishing Saudi Arabia as a premier destination for hosting world-class boxing events.

Riyadh Season is the entertainment initiative of the General Entertainment Authority to promote tourism in Saudi. It is a 6 month-long entertainment event (October to March) that aims to promote the city of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to the world. From gastronomic experiences, to concerts, plays, art, sporting events and world-class shopping, there’s something for everyone at Riyadh Season.

However, for many years, Riyadh Season has been popular among the local population and the surrounding Middle East region. And didn’t attract many international travellers.

To change this perception and make Riyadh even more attractive to international audiences, they decided to promote their crowning event – Boxing.

With a number of huge fights already under their belt, Riyadh has become the Mecca of boxing in the world, bar none.

Each fight is unique in its matchup and has a story to tell. Hence no two campaigns are the same. Each is backed by insights of the fighters, or their history. Knockout Chaos was promoted as two world-class fighters from different combat genres coming together with their impressive knockout records and chaos they bring.

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.

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.

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.

Knockout Chaos is a thrilling blend of innovation and nostalgia, transporting audiences through an electrifying journey across iconic global cities and the vibrant world of the 80s, switching between the real-world and the pixel-world of arcade combat games of that era.

Before each fighter lands a punch, the scene shifts spectacularly from the real-world settings into the brightly coloured environments of the classic combat arcade games. To achieve these outstanding results, we partnered with leading pixel artists, who meticulously crafted in each pixel of the fighters, including their environment, paying homage to the eras arcade visual style while maintaining a crisp, contemporary edge. Even the audio and sound design were meticulously crafted. To complement the music, we created a sound-design that pays tribute to the video games of the late 80’s and 90’s, while pushing the boundaries and keeping the soundtrack dynamic and engaging.

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.