ADC Awards
ADC Annual Awards is the oldest continuously running industry award show in the world, with an incredible legacy of over 100 years. These awards celebrate the very best in advertising, digital media, graphic and publication design, packaging and product design, motion, experiential and spatial design, photography, illustration and fashion design – all with a focus on artistry and craftsmanship.
Learn more about ADC105
Battle of the Baddest
Agency Droga5 / New York + General Entertainment Authority / Saudi Media Company / Riyadh + Accenture Song / New York + SHOWstudio / London
Category
Posters / Billboards - Series
Annual ID
ADC103_BCD039M
About the Work
Boxing promotions are notoriously soulless, following the same forgettable format. The crossover fight between Tyson Fury (the ‘Gypsy King’) and Francis Ngannou (the ‘King of MMA’) was going to be explosive.
We needed to create a campaign that would live up to the magnitude of the fight. So rather than featuring the fighters as mere men, we made them kings.
Inspired by the moniker of each fighter, the idea was to honor their legacies by showing their regality, disrupting the “macho” tropes of the category to create an edified piece of art that would have stopping power in the wild.
The executions transformed fighters into royals, highlighting their unique journey’s to success and amplifying the magnitude of the epic faceoff. The art direction and photography takes its cues from royal portraits, paintings and sculptures. The copywriting adopts a style reminiscent of historical texts on kings, with longform executions adorned with references from their lifetime and rise to power.
Central to the concept, the use of outdoor media was designed to signal the “reign” of each king over their territory. And, similar to the use of outdoor communication of monarchies throughout history, large scale outdoor placements were used to display each king to their followers. From a New York’s Time Square takeover to the first-ever fight-specific creative on the Las Vegas Sphere and with creative that spanned 12+ countries and multiple mediums, the campaign garnered over 10.5B impressions.
The work was so well received that unofficial merch was bootlegged online. Then, on fight night, the men walked into the ring as Kings—turning a campaign into a piece of living culture that set a new standard for the category.
We needed to create a campaign that would live up to the magnitude of the fight. So rather than featuring the fighters as mere men, we made them kings.
Inspired by the moniker of each fighter, the idea was to honor their legacies by showing their regality, disrupting the “macho” tropes of the category to create an edified piece of art that would have stopping power in the wild.
The executions transformed fighters into royals, highlighting their unique journey’s to success and amplifying the magnitude of the epic faceoff. The art direction and photography takes its cues from royal portraits, paintings and sculptures. The copywriting adopts a style reminiscent of historical texts on kings, with longform executions adorned with references from their lifetime and rise to power.
Central to the concept, the use of outdoor media was designed to signal the “reign” of each king over their territory. And, similar to the use of outdoor communication of monarchies throughout history, large scale outdoor placements were used to display each king to their followers. From a New York’s Time Square takeover to the first-ever fight-specific creative on the Las Vegas Sphere and with creative that spanned 12+ countries and multiple mediums, the campaign garnered over 10.5B impressions.
The work was so well received that unofficial merch was bootlegged online. Then, on fight night, the men walked into the ring as Kings—turning a campaign into a piece of living culture that set a new standard for the category.
2024 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit Honor
Credits
Agency
Droga5 / New York
Accenture Song / New York
Client / Brand
General Entertainment Authority / Saudi Media Company / Riyadh
Production Company
SHOWstudio / London
Post Production Company
Epilogue Inc / London
GRIF.Studio / Brooklyn, NY
Art Director
Cara Cecchini
Matthew Gossage
Chief Creative Officer
David Droga
Scott Bell
Asai Masaya
Copywriter
Mia Rafowitz
Creative Director
Bastien Grisolet
U Takahashi
Yasuhide Arai
Executive Creative Director
Motonori Sugiyama
Executive Producer
Jenn Mann
Ruben Mercadal
Alyssa Dolman
Charlotte Knight
Global Chief Marketing Officer
Sean Lackey
Group Creative Director
Tres Colacion
Giancarlo Rodas
Photographer
Nick Knight
Junior Creative Technologist
Izzie Koyander
Account Director
Anthony Gavranic
Nivie Roberts
Account Manager
Brendan Woeppel
Nichole Murdock
Account Supervisor
Maddy Bell
Melanie Fougeres
Associate Director & Senior Business Affairs Manager
Tom Vendittelli
Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Holding Group
Mohamed Al-Khereiiji
Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Media Company
Khalid Alkhudair
Costume Designer
Sandy Powell
Executive Group Account Director
Sharif El Rabiey
Group Project Manager
Alex Robinson
Head of Business Affairs
Dan Simonetti
Head of Marketing, Saudi Media Company
Mazin Alshanti
Minister, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority
His Excellency, Turki Alalshikh
Post Producer
Jose Pacheco
Senior Project Manager
Gregory Boone jr.
Senior Talent Manager
Sunny Valencia
Set Designer
Andrew Tomlinson
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