WOW Air - WOW Air 24 Hour Surf Challenge

WOW Air - WOW Air 24 Hour Surf Challenge

According to the International Surfing Association there are over 20 million surfers worldwide . Over three million are located in the USA and over a third of those are in California .

In addition to being a major surfing centre, California is also where Icelandic low fares airline WOW Air launched two new routes in 2016, connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco with Reykjavik and from there the UK and continental Europe . To promote its new California routes, WOW air teamed up with professional surfer Anastasia Ashley, giving her the challenge of surfing in both California and Iceland in 24 hours .

A short three minute video shows Anastasia starting off in Zuma Beach, Malibu, before heading over to LAX for her WOW Air f light to Iceland. She was then taken to Vik, the southernmost village in Iceland , where her guide remarked that the weather conditions were some of the harshest that he’d seen. Despite all this, Anastasia completed the challenge with over 15 minutes to spare. This tactic really works for a number of reasons. First of all, as we’ve already said there is a clear link in the popular imagination between California and surfing. Secondly, the sport has a ‘cool factor’ that reaches out to a far wider audience than the c.20 million who actively take part. That audience in turn is largely affluent and young - exactly the kind of demographic WOW air is trying to attract.

Finally, as a professional surfer Anastasia Ashley has credibility. And with over two million fans her own Facebook page (where she shared WOW air’s video) has a bigger reach than many mainstream media outlets. In addition to having been shared on Anastasia Ashley’s own social media feeds, the video has so far gained over 300k views on WOW air’s Facebook page and 30k views on its YouTube channel .