Jim Beam to fund aspiring surfers in interactive online competition
Jim Beam, the whiskey brand, has launched an interactive online competition to give up and coming surfers the chance to compete in the World Qualifying Series.
The competition entitled The Break will see one unsigned male surfer awarded $50,000 and one unsigned female surfer $25,000 in sponsorship.
Surfing enthusiasts are being asked to prove to the public and a panel of judges they have what it takes to compete in the WQS by submitting a 90-second video showcasing 60 seconds of their surfing ability and a creative 30 seconds of personality.
Registrations are being directed to a section on surfing website Swellnet, with video entries to be uploaded from July.
The public will be asked to vote for their favourite contender over an eight-week period from November.
The voting process will consist of a 50/50 split from the public and the judges, including well-known surfers Dayyan Neve and Paige Houden.
Participants who make it to the final will then compete in a Survivor-style weekend away in January.
The campaign concept, strategy and execution is being handled by Jim Beam agency The Works. Razor will be involved in promotional media activity to push the competition later this year.
The competition is being supported by an online partnership with Swellnet and consumer magazines including Tracks and Waves.
Rip Curl and Sanyo have also signed up as brand partners. Jim Beam is already a sponsor of Rip Curl’s Pro Surfing competition and Sanyo is a sponsor of Jim Beam’s Surftag event.
Jim Beam has a long association with the sport, with its surfing competition Surftag now running for 10 years. In 2008 it also launched the annual Women’s Surftag event to help raise awareness of women in surfing.
Ray Noble, Jim Beam brand director, said: “Jim Beam Surftag attracts some of the best surfers in Australia and has a bigger presence in local communities than we ever imagined.
“We wanted to take this further and create a platform which went beyond the traditional surfing community and reached out to a wider audience. By creating an online competition, and asking people to enter videos, we can create unlimited possibilities and see this being one of the biggest online campaigns we have launched.”
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Nothing against Jim Beam, but I really think alcohol companies need to be banned from sponsoring sports in Australia.
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