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Surfer

This shot shows the distinctive black and white stock and the metaphor of "white horses" illustrating the power of the wave.
Agency	Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London
Client	Diageo
Language	English
Running time	60 seconds
Product	Guinness draught stout
Release date(s)	17 March 1999 (television)
Directed by	Jonathan Glazer
Music by	"Phat Planet" by Leftfield
Starring	] (surfer) Louis Mellis (voiceover)
Production company	Academy Commercials, London
Produced by	Nick Morris Yvonne Chalkley (agency producer)
Country	United Kingdom
Budget	£6 million (campaign)
Preceded by	Swimblack
Followed by	Bet on Black

Surfer is an integrated advertising campaign launched in 1999 by Diageo to promote Guinness-brand draught stout 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, D&AD Awards, Cannes Lions), and in 2000 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 and eventually this formed the basis of their track "Phat Planet" which appears on their 1999 album Rhythm and Stealth. Its use in the advertisement led to the song appearing on several compilation albums 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 Burn
• Music Production Company: Soundtree Music Limited (www.soundtreemusic.com)
• Music Supervisor: Peter Raeburn
• VFX: 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

1. "Interview with film director Jonathan Glazer". TheGuardian.com. 4 October 2004.
2. Yates, Karen (2 June 2000). "AMV wins agency of the year and golds for Guinness at Clios". PR Week. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
3. Cozens, Claire (2001-04-06). "Guinness unveils new advert". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
4. "Guinness Surfer Ad (video)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
5. "Your mission: Bring the world to life with a pint of Guinness". Independent.co.uk. 9 November 2009. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25.
6. "The 100 Greatest TV Adverts - Features - Results - Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-30.
7. "Classic Ads : Spots and Spot Innovation : TV Toolbox : Thinkbox". Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
8. "Cinematica's top 10 commercials of all time - Cinematica Media - Professional Video Production". www.cinematicamedia.com. Archived from the original on 2015-01-16.
9. "The Work Behind the 10 Most Creative Commercials Ever". 21 March 2011.
10. http://www.empireonline.com/features/amazing-adverts-from-amazing-directors/p9
11. "10 Most-Viral Guinness Ads Ever".
12. "20 Most-Shared Guinness Ads on YouTube". Mashable. 16 March 2012.
13. "What is Savory: All About the Herb and 4 Tasty Recipes".
14. "Cinematica's top 10 commercials of all time - Cinematica Media - Professional Video Production". www.cinematicamedia.com. Archived from the original on 2015-01-16.
15. "Music: The Composer's Art".
16. "Music for Film & TV Part 1: Peter Raeburn – Songwriting Magazine". 24 September 2012.

• Guinness advertising
• British television commercials
• 1999 in British television