''Surfer'' is an integrated advertising campaign launched in 1999 by
Diageo
Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...
to promote
Guinness
Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...
-brand
draught stout
Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout.
The first known use of the word ''stout'' for beer, in a document dated 1677 found in the Egerton Manuscript ...
in the
United Kingdom. The cornerstone of the campaign is a television commercial, originally 60 seconds long, which centred on a
Polynesian
surfer successfully taking on a gigantic wave. Shot in
Hawaii over a nine-day period and directed by
Jonathan Glazer, the piece went on to win more awards than any other commercial in 1999 (
Clio Awards,
,
Cannes Lions
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the ...
), and in 2002 was voted the "Best ad of all time" in a poll conducted by
Channel 4 and ''
The Sunday Times''.
The plot centers on a group of surfers, waiting for the perfect wave. As it arrives, the crashing 'white horses' turn into actual horses. One by one, a surfer 'crashes out', leaving only one, who manages to conquer the wave. The others join him as they celebrate on the shore.
The advert was inspired by
Walter Crane's 1893 painting "Neptune's Horses". The text also draws inspiration from
Herman Melville's novel ''
Moby Dick'', including the line "Ahab says, 'I don't care who you are, here's to your dream.'" (which does not actually appear in the novel).
The music track in the advert was created by British band
Leftfield
Leftfield are a British electronic music duo formed in 1989 as the duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of the Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was very influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s, wi ...
and eventually this formed the basis of their track "
Phat Planet
"Phat Planet" is a song by the English electronic group Leftfield, taken from their album '' Rhythm and Stealth'', released in 1999. It is built on an insistent, two-note bassline, and the heavily distorted vocal of "Phat Planet", spoken by Neil ...
" which appears on their 1999 album ''
Rhythm and Stealth
''Rhythm and Stealth'' is the second studio album by Leftfield, released on 20 September 1999. It reached number 1 on the UK Albums Chart. It was nominated for the 2000 Mercury Music Prize.
Critical reception
Matt Hendrickson of ''Rolling Stone ...
''. Its use in the advertisement led to the song appearing on several
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s of music from advertisements including ''Classic Ads'' (2002), ''I Love TV Ads'' (2004) and ''Guinness 250: Music from the TV Ads'' (2009).
An extended 90-second version is available on the 2005 DVD ''
The Work of Director Jonathan Glazer''.
In November 2009, ''
The Independent'' named the advertisement, alongside several other advertisements in the campaign, amongst the "greatest advertising of all time".
Accolades
The asterisk (*) denotes an unordered list.
Additional credits
*Account Executive: Gavin Thompson
*Creative Director: David Abbott
*Copywriter: Tom Carty
*Art Director: Walter Campbell
*Directors of Photography: Ivan Bird,
Don King (water), Lee Allison (aerial)
*Production Designer: Ben Myhill
*Editor: Sam Sneade, Sam Sneade Editing, London
*Sound Design Wave Studios, London
*Sound Designer: Johnnie Bur
*Music Production Company: Soundtree Music Limited (www.soundtreemusic.com)
*Music Supervisor: Peter Raeburn
*VFX:
Framestore, The Computer Film Company, London
*VFX Designers: Dan Glass / Adrian de Wet / Paddy Eason / Tom Debenham
*VFX Artists: Gavin Toomey / Alex Payman / Joe Pavlo
*VFX 3D Supervisor: Dominic Parker
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surfer (Advertisement)
Guinness advertising
British television commercials
1999 in British television