To celebrate the launch of the fully electric Audi e-tron, we set out to create content that felt authentic, unbranded and progressive. We wanted a piece of content that felt more like a film, less like a commercial. To reflect the qualities of the e-tron, the piece needed to be cutting edge, futuristic and unlike anything seen before.
Electric Wave was produced by CONVICTS in collaboration with Collider Studio. It is half surf-movie, half art-house-cinema and all futuristic. It celebrates the spirit of the e-tron while leaving the product itself off-screen. The goal was to have the talent organically post and share the film on their social channels.
Shot overnight at Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch in Central California, the film expands surfing’s aesthetic possibilities. To elevate the project, we worked with seven time World Surf League Champion, Stephanie Gilmore, in addition to the young star Coco Ho and legendary free surfer, Leah Dawson. Electric Wave celebrates sustainability and progression within and beyond the surf world. The film was directed by Daniel Askill – the award-winning director of Sia and Lady Gaga’s famed music videos – and features an original score from Japanese-born, Malibu-bred composer Aska Matsumiya.
Defined by collaboration, dance and the world’s most advanced artificial surf break, Electric Wave offers a vision of a more conscious and sustainable future. There has never been a “choreographed” surf film, very few shot at night and even fewer with this level of collaboration and intention.
In addition to the hero asset, we created a behind-the-scenes film about the making of Electric Wave. This film, shared across channels, not only deepened the immersive experience of the film, but led audience members to the original piece.
All of the assets, including two long-form editorial pieces were shared on the global Audi website.
https://www.audi.com/electricwave
The social campaign around Electric Wave boosted the film’s visibility on YouTube and Vimeo, ultimately earning the project a Vimeo staff pick. A notable surf filmmaker said of Electric Wave, “It’s so epic. Been blowing up on the socials of everyone in the ocean/film world for days now. Hands down one of the best commercial surf spots I’ve seen”.
The social sphere, however, was not the only sector abuzz with enthusiasm for the film. The traditional media world found itself taken by Electric Wave as well. In total, there were nine feature stories written about the film by a diverse range of news outlets, from Surfer Magazine to Vogue Australia and Monster Children.
The film was embraced by an intersection of communities: surfers, cinephiles, environmental advocates, technology enthusiasts, photographers, and so on.
“Electric Wave is the most gorgeous piece of surf cinema we’ve seen in some time… To signify the release of their new fully electric vehicle, Audi enlisted surfing’s one true queen, Stephanie Gilmore, along with worthy heiresses Coco Ho and Leah Dawson, to remind us that surfing is still the most beautiful thing in the world.”
– Stab Magazine
“The short film Electric Wave depicts futuristic surfing scenes in richly stylized, and sometimes allegorical, moments…It was produced by CONVICTS to usher in the launch of Audi’s new fully-electric e-tron.”
– Cool Hunting
“This Surreal Surf Ranch Video Wants You to Buy an Audi. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a…car commercial?”
– Surfer.com
“Now that endemic surf brands have lost their soul and budgets have been slashed, it’s great to see Audi put together a team of incredible creatives and three of our favourite surfers.”
– Mermaid Society
Photography
Captured by award-winning surf photographer, Todd Glaser.
In short, we expected Electric Wave to exceed our expectations. And it certainly did.
