Ad of the Day: Every Wave Is Your First in Samsung’s Lovely Celebration of Surfing

"The first time you hold a surfboard, the first time you ride a wave, the first time you get barreled, the first time you win a world title—it doesn't matter where you are from or how good you are. Every day is day one."

That's how Samsung summarizes its newest long-form ad in the clip's YouTube description, but the words hardly do justice to the visuals assembled by agency partner 72andSunny in Amsterdam. In "Every Day Is Day One," we dive right in alongside surfers facing the dauntingly powerful forces that make the sport both exhilarating and terrifying. 

Created as part of Samsung's global sponsorship of the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour, the ad includes a mix of beginners and seasoned pros like Kelly Slater, Stephanie Gilmore, Gabriel Medina, Johanne Defay and Mitch Crews. Segments were filmed in Iceland, Fiji, India and even the suburbs of New York. 

Helping to maintain the ominous and ambitious tone is the excellent soundtrack, a cover of David Bowie's "Absolute Beginners" by singer Angela McCluskey, whom you might remember from her work with Telepopmusik, and pianist Paul Cantelon.

The message of perpetual discovery is one often noted by the world's greatest surfers. 

"Every single time you paddle into a wave, it's a new wave," Gilmore told the ad's creators. "It's never broken before, and you'll never see it again."

CREDITS

Client: Samsung

Agency: 72andSunny, Amsterdam

Executive Creative Director: Carlo Cavallone

Creative Director: Paulo Martins

Writers: Lee Hempstock, Damian Isaak

Lead Designer: Robert Teague

Designer: Renee Lam

Group Brand Director: Caroline Britt

Senior Brand Manager: Rebeccah Lowe

Brand Co-ordinator: Nicholas Rowland

Director of Film Production: Stephanie Oakley

Film Producer: Eline Bakker

Senior Business Affairs Manager: Madelon Pol

Business Affairs Co-ordinator: Sabina Gorini

Strategy Director: Stephanie Newman

Strategist: Nathan Manou

Director of Communications Strategy: Simon Summerscales

Junior Strategist: Daniel Asplund

Client Director, Global Partnership Marketing, IM Division: Hoon Kang

Client Senior Manager, Global Partnership Marketing, IM Division: Daniel Kim

Client Manager, Global Partnership Marketing, IM Division: Kim Hyunmin

Audio Post Facility: Wave Studios

Sound Supervisor: Alex Nicholls-Lee

Sound Design, Mix: Ed Downham

Audio Post Producer: Ben Tomlin

Production: Exit Films, Melbourne; Smuggler, London

Director: Mark Molloy

Executive Producers, Exit Films: Corey Esse, Emma Laurence

Executive Produdcer, Smuggler: Chris Barrett, Fergus Brown

Producer: Martin Box

Director of Photography: Greig Fraser

2nd Unit Director of Photography, Underwater: Chris Bryan

Editing: Marshall Street Editors, London

Editor: Patric Ryan

Assistant Editor: Elena De Palma

Edit Producer: S.J. O’Mara

Postproduction: Glassworks, Amsterdam

Lead Flame: Urs Furrer

Flame Artist: Bob Roijen

Colorist: Scott Harris

Executive Producer: Armand Weeresinghe

Composition Title: "Absolute Beginners"

Written by David Bowie

Published by Jones Music America (ASCAP), administered by ARZO

Publishing for North America and Jones Music America (ASCAP)

Administered for the World except North America: RZO Music

Master Recording: The Rumor Mill

Producer: J. Ralph

Co-Producer: Arthur Pingrey

Performers: Angela McCluskey, and Paul Cantelon