Davina McCall & Joe Marler - Ancient + Brave
We rebranded January with Ancient + Brave for a multi asset campaign introducing a new brand ambassador - Joe Marler!
The brief
Ancient + Brave asked us to co-create their January campaign with them, to introduce their new brand ambassador partnership with a comedic approach and produce multiple assets across brand film, social and photography.
January is the loudest month in wellness. Everywhere you look, the world is telling you to reinvent yourself: new routines, new diets, new promises of a “new you.” But for Ancient + Brave, that noise felt less like motivation and more like pressure.
Ancient + Brave wanted to show up differently. They wanted to do more than just advertise their products. They needed an idea that would cut through the noise, spark conversation, and feel genuinely human. One that wouldn’t preach, but would invite people to rethink what wellness could be.
Services
- Social Media,
- Film,
- Strategy,
- Ideation,
- Production,
- Creative Development,
- Social Strategy,
- Video Production,
- Post Production,
- Photography,
- Brand content
Deliverables
- 90 second campaign hero film
- 30 second and 6 second cut downs
- Behind the scenes film
- Bank of campaign images and photography
- Social media reels for paid and organic
Creative Strategy
By January, everyone is exhausted. Audiences weren’t craving more rules or resolutions, they were craving permission. Permission to feel good, to be imperfect, to rediscover joy, and build rituals that actually last. Wellness culture has become joyless, and joyless doesn’t endure. Ancient + Brave had the opportunity to act as an antidote. A brand that rejects restriction, embraces ritual, and treats consistency, not transformation, as the real marker of strength.
This became the guiding idea: ‘Resolutions Worth Nourishing’.
Joe Marler Meets Davina McCall
Be The Fox developed a hero film that dismantled January’s punishment culture with humour, warmth, and humanity. Rather than rail against wellness clichés, the campaign laughed through them. At its heart was Davina McCall. Not a polished, untouchable wellness guru, but the Davina everyone genuinely loves: confident, cheeky, joyful, slightly chaotic, and unapologetically herself.
The hero film paired Davina with Joe Marler, playing the “willing but wary” wellness apprentice. Their dynamic created the comedic engine: Davina, leading with confidence and mischief; Joe, reacting, sometimes confused, sometimes impressed, occasionally terrified. The humour came from contrast, not caricature. The tone was intelligent, warm, and self-aware: dry wit rather than slapstick, playful irreverence without ever undermining wellness itself.
Authentic Product Marketing
In this space, Ancient + Brave could own a new creative identity, sitting somewhere between “age disgracefully” and “self-care is brave”, while remaining credible, aspirational, and distinctly their own.
Products weren’t the star of the show, they were part of real life. True Collagen and Creatine appeared naturally, woven into Davina’s everyday rituals: a cup of tea, a moment of pause, a habit she actually keeps. There was no hard sell, no over-explaining. Instead, the products reinforced the brand’s belief in consistency, nourishment, and long-term wellbeing, the perfect reflection of a subscription model that rewards consistency over quick fixes.
Our expertise in always-on, video-first storytelling meant we could craft content that felt cinematic and culturally alive, yet flexible enough to work across social platforms. We knew the nuances of attention in January, when audiences scroll past anything that feels preachy or overly polished, and built films that landed with humour, humanity, and authenticity from the opening seconds.
Creative Production
Our production approach was equally distinctive. We leveraged our agile, end-to-end capabilities to move fast without compromising quality. From conceptualisation to casting, location scouting, and multi-platform editing. By treating every touchpoint as part of a single ecosystem, we created a cohesive look and feel across hero films, social cutdowns, and native content, making sure Ancient + Brave could speak with one voice everywhere their audience would see the campaign.
Most importantly, our team’s deep understanding of culture, representation, and attention in video content allowed us to balance warmth and wit with credibility. Davina and Joe’s chemistry was captured in a way that felt real and unforced and the products felt naturally integrated.
Ancient + Brave became a cultural ally, standing with audiences against January pressure, perfectionism, and punishment. Real wellness is about nourishing yourself to live life a little bit more disgracefully!
Case Study Film
Build Your Campaign With Us
We’re bold, imaginative, and purposeful. Fearlessly fighting boring. We don’t just make content, we engineer the hell out of it. Driven by curiosity and collaboration, we lead with confidence, creating ideas that stand out, get noticed, and leave a lasting impact.
We're led by creatives and powered by doers.