Cannondale x EF Pro Cycling
Product Launch
The Challenge
Cannondale were preparing to launch two elite race bikes: the SuperSix EVO5 and the SuperSlice.
They did not want a traditional product film. No spec sheets. No wind tunnels. No generic performance montage.
Instead, they wanted to use their most powerful asset: the EF Pro Cycling team.
The challenge was clear:
Launch two very different high performance bikes
Celebrate the personality of a team known for doing things differently
Deliver standout content within a tightly limited window at the end of team training camp
“Working within a compressed training camp schedule, we designed a production model that maximised every minute of athlete access.”
The Insight
Cycling fans already understand performance.
What they connect with is personality.
EF are not a faceless performance machine. They are expressive, unconventional and proudly misfit. That identity is what sets them apart in a crowded WorldTour landscape.
If the bikes are built for this team, then the team becomes the proof point.
Rather than listing features, we could dramatise the strengths of the bike through the character of the riders themselves.
Performance told through personality.
The Idea
The original creative direction came from Cannondale. Our role was to collaborate, develop and elevate the concepts into two distinctive but connected campaigns.
SUPER SLICE
“Blink and you’ll miss it.”
A time trial bike built for pure speed.
We leaned into that truth by building a playful race day vignette where the rider becomes nothing more than a pink blur. The crowd reacts. The tension builds. The moment arrives and disappears in an instant.
Speed is not described. It is experienced.
Team riders and staff appear as fans, cameos and easter eggs, reinforcing the culture and inside jokes that resonate deeply with core cycling audiences.
SUPER SIX EVO5
“Instinct Wins.”
The EVO5 is built for riders who race on feel, not formulas.
We created a series of elevated, cinematic vignettes celebrating the individuality of each rider. From calm under pressure to controlled chaos, each athlete embodies a different performance trait.
The bike becomes the unifying tool that makes them all faster, everywhere.
This approach transformed a team launch into a personality led brand statement.
What We Did
Working within a compressed training camp schedule, we designed a production model that maximised every minute of athlete access.
Collaborated closely with Cannondale to refine and strengthen the concepts
Developed pre visualisations to test surreal and VFX driven moments in advance
Built a modular vignette structure to create hero films and multiple social assets
Designed and adapted hotel environments into visually distinct worlds
Delivered hero films, athlete cutdowns, cameo edits and campaign stills
By structuring the campaign around character led scenes, every second on set delivered maximum value.
The Results
Two hero launch films
Modular social cutdowns across both campaigns.
Individual athlete vignette assets for organic distribution
Stills campaign inspired by classic automotive advertising
A cohesive, personality driven launch that stood out in a category dominated by spec led storytelling
Most importantly, Cannondale launched two high performance bikes in a way that felt unmistakably EF.
All photos courtesy of Ashley & Jered Gruber
