Getty Images' stock photography unearths fascinating gems around the 'Fight of the Century'

Stock photography may have once been antithetical to creativity, but now we know it can a tremendous storytelling tool, evident in numerous campaigns such as those created for Getty Images and Brazilian agency Almap/BBDO. Their latest effort is a documentary short film exploring a pivotal moment in sports history: March 8, 1971, the day of the "Fight of the Century" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Using footage and photography pulled entirely from Getty and iStock's libraries, the short delivers an engrossing tale about Ali's first and most famous loss in the ring, pulling in bits of U.S. history surrounding the fight--not only was this a big athletic showdown--it was an ideological one too, with Ali backed by left-leaning "revolutionaries" and Frazier supported largely by conservatives.

On its own, the short is a thoroughly engaging watch, but an interactive version enriches the tale with more fascinating stories about the celebrities who sat ringside, which viewers can open by tapping on the "8" key. Miles Davis, for example, was a a big boxing fan who composed music around the sport--and was an amateur pugilist himself. Although Frank Sinatra was already a megastar at that point, he had to haggle his way ringside--by getting Life magazine to hire him as its photographer (And he landed a cover shot, according to the film).

The film was produced out of Stink. Previous efforts from Getty via Almap include a 20-year-anniversary campaign showing the evolution of folks like President Clinton and Prince William over two decades and "From Love to Bingo," which takes viewers through all of life's stages in 873 images.