The objective of ‘Dwanta’s Lost Can’ was to drive awareness and trial for ZOA’s Dwanta Holiday Punch during the most competitive retail moment of the year by leading with entertainment, storytelling, and creator collaboration.
Founded by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Dave Rienzi and John Schulman, ZOA’s audience prioritizes health, balance, and performance, but the holiday season often creates moments of low energy. Our insight was that during these moments, people want something that feels human and entertaining. We set out to position ZOA as positive energy that finds you exactly when you need it.
The campaign centered on an original animated short film about Dwanta Claus, Dwayne’s holiday alter ego, and a can of ZOA with a holiday mission to deliver ‘elfin’ good energy.’ We partnered with up and coming animator Kim Borja, known as @pastel.shark, whose distinctive animation style draws from nostalgic early 90s influences that resonated with the target demographic. Her growing audience and transparent creative process aligned with ZOA’s goal of supporting artists while delivering premium storytelling.
The narrative was paired with a national digital giveaway allowing audiences to actively participate. On launch day the giveaway site drove over 3,000 visitors and more than 600 entries. Without any social call to action, Dwanta Holiday Punch sold out on Amazon on day one, more than doubling average daily sales, and prompting Amazon to restock sooner than anticipated.
The work proved that leading with entertainment, creators, and storytelling could drive cultural attention and real commercial impact.
‘Dwanta’s Lost Can’ was executed as an integrated storytelling and performance marketing campaign designed to live natively across social platforms while driving measurable business outcomes.
The campaign launched with a hero animated short film introducing Dwanta Claus inside his underground workshop, where ZOA Holiday Punch cans are assembled and deployed into the world. When one can goes missing, Dwanta discovers it has found its way to a nursing student juggling multiple jobs during the holidays. The product becomes a moment of emotional reset rather than a traditional promotional device.
Beyond the final film, the collaboration extended into process driven content. The animator and her team shared behind the scenes moments across both brand and personal channels, highlighting the craft, speed, and care involved in producing high quality animation within a tight production window. This approach reinforced the campaign’s broader goal of empowering creators and inviting audiences into the making of the story, not just the finished output.
The animation style was bold, graphic, and optimized for mobile viewing, ensuring immediate clarity across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Signature sound design, particularly the recurring can opening sound, created a recognizable cue that carried across cutdowns and social placements.
Execution extended beyond the film itself. Viewers were driven to FindMyZOA.com, where they could claim Dwanta’s lost cans through a national giveaway experience offering free cans of Dwanta Holiday Punch and a lifetime supply grand prize.
On social, the campaign generated millions of views across platforms. Two Instagram posts alone reached 8M views, generating more than 100K likes combined. On TikTok and YouTube the film generated nearly 400K views and 10K likes, extending reach across long and short form viewing platforms.
Founder amplification from Dwayne Johnson further accelerated distribution and credibility, turning the campaign into a cultural moment rather than a one time brand drop.
Dwanta’s Lost Cans delivered strong results across engagement, trial, and commerce.
Within the first 24 hours, the campaign drove over 3,000 visits to the giveaway site and more than 600 completed entries, demonstrating high intent engagement for a story-led launch. These interactions directly supported product trial through free can distribution and lifetime supply incentives.
Despite there being no social messaging directing audiences to purchase, Dwanta Holiday Punch sold out on Amazon on launch day, more than doubling average daily sales. Amazon subsequently restocked their inventory to meet demand, signaling clear downstream impact from the campaign.
Internally, the campaign received strong validation from brand and agency leadership, reinforcing that leading with entertainment and narrative drove stronger results than traditional promotional tactics. ‘Dwanta’s Lost Can’ demonstrated that emotionally resonant storytelling can move product, generate cultural attention, and create momentum beyond launch day.
