MIKE TURNER

Our client told us that their product was not too different from competitors’ products. (It’s a fiberglass fabric that forms the foundation of surfboard manufacture.) We pressed. Surely there is something different about it, no? Yes, as it turned out. Aerialite is unusually white. This quality is attractive to surfboard manufacturers, who want a brilliant canvas for their gnarly graphics. (Note: I would only use the word “gnarly” in the context of commenting on a surfboard ad.) So the first two ads here were based on that “whiteness” strategy. The client eventually asked us to move on from whiteness, and we devised the next strategy, which can be summarized as “To you, the surfboard maker, your boards are your art. We understand.”