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Case study — KNOX Hydrate
A hydration brand co-founded by a UFC champion could easily have made every ad about the champion. We built a platform big enough for a fighter, a trailblazer, a songwriter, a kid with a dream and a Premier League club — one line, five worlds, one can.
The whole campaign in 38 seconds, cut to the TV spot's soundtrack. Turn on sound for the full effect.
People act in line with who they believe they are. A drink that says “for champions” quietly tells everyone else it isn't for them. KNOX has no sugar and no caffeine, so it can be for everyone — from a pro fighter to a twelve-year-old.
So we didn't build the work around the product or the champion. We built it around purpose: the reason you train, write or show up. Every person we cast brings a different reason. The brand line stays the same.
Show who the viewer wants to be first. The formula backs up the promise; it isn't the hook.
A champion, a pro fighter, an artist, a child. Each one makes the brand feel open to a new group of people.
Each world gets its own light, pace and flavour, and every film ends on the same KNOX sign-off.
Five kinds of purpose, each with its own flavour. Choose one to jump to its film.
The launch spot brings the whole cast together: the cage, the ring, the studio and the stadium, with a different can in every hand. It ends on the line that holds the campaign together.
Fuel your purpose.
Dricus du PlessisUFC middleweight · KNOX co-founder
We shot Dricus in the minutes before the walk-out: chalk, heat, red light and a cold can on the cage floor. The cuts are fast and the camera stays close, then everything stops for a look straight down the lens.
He's the brand's biggest name, so the film does one job: make KNOX feel like part of a champion's preparation, not something he was paid to hold.
Fuel you… Fuel your purpose.
Saarah KarriemFighter · featured in the KNOX TV commercial
“Fighter, trailblazer, and a force in and out of the ring.”Launch caption, Women's Day 2025
For South Africa's Women's Day we turned a supporting role in the TV spot into a lead. The teaser is seven seconds long: one spotlight, a skipping rope, a steady walk to camera, and the KNOX mark in pink.
It builds on the commercial. People who had already seen her on TV now get her own story — what the caption calls “the power, passion, and resilience that fuels her every day.”
Zaan SonnekusMusician
Hydration isn't only for athletes. We took KNOX into a recording studio: a lyric sheet, a keyboard lit in brand teal, an orange can next to the mixing desk, and a songwriter getting lost in the take.
We shot it in 4K at 50 fps so the hands and keys could be slowed down without losing detail. The end frame changes the brand promise for this audience:
Hydration fuels creativity.
Dreams Start SmallSocial film & photography
“One kid. One stadium. One dream too big to ignore.”Launch caption
A caffeine-free drink can speak to parents in a way energy drinks can't. We put a young rugby player alone in a Test stadium, shot from below against the sky, so a school kid looks like a future Springbok.
The end card makes the product benefit plain: Zero caffeine. Perfect for all ages. The caption ties it to the future: “Hydration today. Greatness tomorrow.”
Newcastle United × KNOXOfficial Sports Hydration Partner · Darsley Park becomes The KNOX
KNOX's biggest step outside South Africa needed to feel like a shared belief, not a logo swap. The launch film is set at the training ground, not the stadium, and the voiceover talks about KNOX and the club in the same breath.
Voiceover script from the launch film
A selection of stills from the campaign. Scroll sideways to see more.
Social views
Across Meta & TikTok
Website sessions
Generated during Q2
Website traffic growth
Q2 vs previous period
Influencer views
Creator campaign performance
