The Campaign

FIN FOR A FIN breaks the cycle of revenge killing, in the event of a shark attack. It’s a specially marked surf fin that alerts authorities to a surfer’s wishes for the shark not to be killed in retaliation. As sometimes the fins are the only thing that survive. When a surfer clips these fins into their surfboard they’re literally telling authorities and the world “If my life’s taken, don’t take theirs.” Whether the surfboard is attached to the roof of a car or being carried into the surf, surfers are making a visible and personal statement for the protection of sharks. Profits are funding mobile shark alert service, Dorsal, and educating people on shark behaviour through charity, Tag For Life. Creating a cycle of coexistence. Not killing.

Creative Execution

The FIN FOR A FIN brand marque represents the coming together of both surfers and sharks, symbolised by their two fins. Applied to custom thruster sets and longboard fins, they’re more than just a powerful statement, they’re designed to perform. Made from hand-foiled fiberglass, then cut out with high-pressure water jets and shaped by hand, the fins are made for high performance manoeuvers. The two-colour combination of black and grey nods to the natural colour of sharks. The brand’s interaction extends beyond surfers and fins. Anyone can show their support across collateral including board stickers, t-shirts and towels, social as well as the web platform where they can purchase the products. FIN FOR A FIN’s impact is further extended with a global registry. This enables surfers to register their wishes on a searchable database, letting next of kin and authorities know they want the shark protected.

FIN FOR A FIN has been embraced by surfers and shark conservationists alike. Shark killing is a divisive issue across the world. FIN FOR A FIN gives a voice to surfers who want to publicly declare their stance on the protection of the sharks, even in the wake of tragedy. And in doing so, is empowering them to fund a safer and healthier ocean. FIN FOR A FIN has already sparked a new and positive conversation, amplifying the voices of a niche demographic of surfers, who are also shark conservationists. With just 10K media spend the campaign has reached over 31 million people, generated $310K Earned Media and had over 5 Million video Views.

FIN FOR A FIN is the surf brand that actively engaged surfers to change the fins on their surfboards to promote and make a direct statement for the protection of sharks. Even in the event of a tragic attack. The creation of the brand was inherently reliant on a strong visual identity and design language. The core element is the symbol that alerts authorities to a surfer’s wishes for a shark not to be killed in retaliation to an attack, as well as a mark that empowered surfers to show where they stood on the issue of shark culling.

We chose to target the grassroots surf community, which has a deep bond with the ocean. To get their attention, we started from scratch; creating a new surf fin that would symbolise the coexistence between sharks and surfers. In doing this we integrated their passion with their conservationist stance. We identified that in order to get support from the tight knit surf community we needed someone to hero FIN FOR A FIN. So, we engaged shark attack survivor and advocate, Mike Coots as our ambassador. This gave instant credibility and created an engaging and truthful narrative to back our campaign.