The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2023–2024
Rip Curl Virtual Pro turns logged GPS surfs into the world's first virtual surf comp
Log a surf on a Rip Curl Search GPS watch and you'd unknowingly entered a global contest; algorithm-scored sessions sent the winner to Fiji.
Rip Curl
What it had to solve
Rip Curl's Search GPS watch, built with VMLY&R since 2014, had tracked more than 50,000 surfers across 76 countries and 25 million waves, but most owners kept their sessions private, so the mountain of logged data created little community value or product engagement.
How it works
Rip Curl and VMLY&R had built the Search GPS watch together in 2014 so surfers could plan, capture and relive their sessions. By 2023 the technology had tracked more than 50,000 surfers in 76 countries and recorded roughly 25 million waves on 2,400 beaches — but most of that data stayed private, and the brand saw an engagement gap: an overwhelming amount of logged information with few reasons for surfers to do anything with it.
The agency's answer was to invent a competition out of the logging itself. During a 10-day window in April 2023, anyone who logged a surf on a Search GPS watch was automatically entered in the Rip Curl Virtual Pro, billed as the world's first virtual surfing competition. A unique algorithm scored distance paddled, surf time, total waves surfed, top speed, longest wave and number of surfs into a final score, and each entrant received a shareable video visualisation of their performance to post online — many discovering only then that they had been part of a global contest.
The competition was presented by Tourism Fiji, with the winner and four mates flown to Namotu Island for a surf trip. Primary school teacher Nick Cashin took the inaugural title. Rip Curl reported 14 million people reached and over US$2 million in PR value, active Search GPS users logged 38% more data, and watch sales rose 40%. Season two followed in May 2024 with Western Australia as presenting partner: surfers from 34 countries competed for a trip to Margaret River, and the event became an annual fixture that sponsors now queue up to back.
The work was recognised with a Wood Pencil at D&AD 2024 in Direct, a Bronze Lion in Creative Data at Cannes 2024, and honours at Spikes Asia. Agency creative director Jake Barrow described the result as 'the power of data when it's combined with insightful creativity' — a sponsored surfing event made entirely of ones and zeros.
Why it lands
- It invented a reason to use a feature surfers already owned, rather than launching a new product or gadget.
- Entrants did not know a surf session would count, so the reveal itself became the news hook and the shareable moment.
- Every participant received a polished data film, turning thousands of amateurs into the campaign's own media channel.
- The prize — a trip to a legendary break with friends — matched surf culture's real rewards, so the event read as sport, not advertising.
- The competition recurs annually, compounding familiarity instead of being a one-off stunt.
What it did
Rip Curl reported 14 million people reached and more than US$2 million in PR value; active Search GPS users logged 38% more data and watch sales rose 40%. The Virtual Pro became an annual fixture on the surfing calendar, and the work collected a D&AD 2024 Wood Pencil, a Cannes Lions Bronze in Creative Data and Spikes Asia honours.
What you can take
A connected product's dormant data is a creative medium: instead of advertising the watch's logging feature, Rip Curl made the act of logging a form of sport, which lifted both usage and sales.
Since then
By 2024 the Rip Curl Virtual Pro had become an annual event on the surfing calendar, with Tourism Fiji followed by Western Australia as presenting partners and other sponsors seeking to buy into a competition built from watch data. Rip Curl continued to frame it as proof of leadership in a changing surf landscape, while the Search GPS watch's logging habit — and sales — grew from the contest. The campaign entered award archives as a reference case for turning product telemetry into branded entertainment and community engagement.
Sources
- Rip Curl Virtual Pro | VML
- VMLY&R & Rip Curl: If you surfed in April you might be in the world's first virtual surf comp
- VML & Rip Curl conclude Rip Curl Virtual Pro Season 2
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