LAUDHAUS, the agency launched earlier this year by Keith Lawler, has created a bespoke new sound-driven campaign for the University of Limerick and UL Sport, called “UnLeash Your Best.”
According to LAUDHAUS, the campaign is built around the belief that “everyone’s ‘best’ exists within them and can be unlocked through the right environment, support and community. It positions UL not just as a place of study, but as a catalyst where potential becomes performance across sport, academia and the arts.”
What sets the campaign apart, however, is its fully bespoke soundtrack, composed using only recorded sounds captured on the UL campus. The campaign follows six UL Sports Scholarship athletes- Olympians, inter-county players, All-Stars and record-breakers. The end result offers a gritty, naturalistic view of elite performance in training.
The production team recorded the physical sounds of sport in action: a hurley scraping across a dressing-room floor, boxing gloves striking a bag, medicine balls hitting concrete, running studs on track, laboured breathing, impacts and collisions. These raw sounds were edited into a dynamic score created by LAUDHAUS in collaboration with Choice Prize-winning artist and producer MuRli, known for his work with Denise Chaila and Rusangano Family.
Research widely shows that music is one of the strongest emotional triggers in the human brain, activating pleasure centres more rapidly than visuals alone. LAUDHAUS said it uses this principle strategically by designing sound as a primary creative asset rather than a supporting element.
“Sound is one of the most underused assets in brand building,” Lawler said. “It reaches the brain’s emotional centres in milliseconds, much faster than visuals do. When you design it intentionally, you unlock a deeper emotional connection with your audience.”
The film features swimmer and junior world record holder Jon Shortt, rower Sadhbh Ní Laoighre, rugby player Catriona Finn, hurdler Fintan DeWhirst, boxer Nell McLaughlin and hurler Diarmuid Stritch. Each was filmed across UL’s sports facilities, highlighting the physical demands of high-performance training within the university’s sporting ecosystem.
“Showcasing the athletes was a major part of this campaign, but equally it was about showcasing the university itself — the environment that nurtures them and pushes them to be their best,” Lawler added.
Neasa O’Donnell, head of student sport at UL, said the agency brought a fresh perspective to how the university tells its high-performance story.
“LAUDHAUS brought a fresh and thoughtful approach to telling the story of high-performance sport at UL,” O’Donnell said. “They understood our athletes, our environment and what makes this place special. Their work captures the power of our community and the commitment behind every scholar who trains here.”
Claire Barry, marketing and communications officer at UL Sport, said the sonic approach delivered a rare level of authenticity.
“The sound of real athletes at work is the soundtrack of our programme and LAUDHAUS turned that into something creative, distinctive and full of energy,” Barry said. “Building a soundtrack entirely from the true sounds of UL sport brought a level of authenticity that you can feel as much as hear. Our scholars are the lifeblood of this programme and LAUDHAUS captured their drive and ambition in a way that is honest, powerful and deeply reflective of who we are.”
The campaign was conceptualised, directed, filmed, produced and scored entirely by LAUDHAUS, reflecting the agency’s evolution as a full-service creative studio with audio-led storytelling at its core. Lawler’s previous work includes major sporting campaigns across GAA, rugby, horse racing and athletics for brands including Littlewoods, Lidl, Vodafone, Horse Racing Ireland and Circle K.
