Independent creative studio CONVICTS has developed ‘Imagine What’s Next’, a season-long brand campaign for the World Surf League (WSL). The campaign will mark 50 years of the World Tour and the start of a new competitive era for the 2026 Championship Tour.
The central insight is simple: for five decades, the WSL has provided a product where imagining what will happen next has been the thing that keeps fans engaged.
‘Imagine What’s Next’ is a celebration of that truth and a declaration that the most exciting chapter is still being written.
CONVICTS developed the campaign, beginning with strategic positioning and creative concepting before landing on a three-part narrative framework: That was then, this is now, imagine what’s next.
The structure gave the team a way to honour the WSL’s 50-year history without getting stuck in nostalgia, while keeping the energy pointed at what is happening now and what is coming next.
The hero film, voiced by three-time World Champion Mick Fanning, brings that framework to life with palpable energy. The film searches across 50 years of competition for the best moments in WSL history, pairing them with the raw intensity of the current generation. The film features champions and competitors spanning the full breadth of the Championship Tour’s history, including Kelly Slater, Layne Beachley, Mick Fanning, Stephanie Gilmore, Felipe Toledo, John John Florence, Carissa Moore, Gabriel Medina, among others. Fanning’s voice was a deliberate creative choice by the WSL and CONVICTS teams. He is part of the history, and of what comes next.
CONVICTS designed a complete campaign system built to sustain energy across the full 9-month, 12-event Championship Tour season.
The campaign also extends into WSL’s Fantasy Surfer gaming products, with dedicated broadcast and social spots. Portuguese-language market versions voiced by 2019 World Champion Italo Ferreira round out the initial deliverables, with additional extensions planned throughout the season.
The campaign launches ahead of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach and spans broadcast, social, digital, OOH, and on-site activations at Championship Tour events worldwide
Brooke Farris chief marketing officer & president North America World Surf League said: “The WSL is entering a new era. We’ve returned to the aggregate format crowning World Champions at the Pipe Masters, we have a new generation of incredible surfers stepping onto the world stage, and we’re celebrating 50 years of the World Tour. ‘Imagine What’s Next’ captures the ambition of this moment, it’s a nod to our deep history while being focussed on what surfing is becoming.”
Tom Law director and chief creative officer CONVICTS: “The challenge was building a campaign system that honours 50 years of that history without getting stuck in it. ‘Imagine What’s Next’ is designed to look forward. The three-part structure gives us a way to acknowledge the legends and the legacy while keeping the energy pointed at what’s happening right now and what’s coming next.”
Campaign Credits:
Client: World Surf League
Chief Marketing Officer & President North America, WSL: Brooke Farris
Chief Strategy and Brand Officer: Dave Prodan
EVP, Content Strategy and Production: Tim Greenberg
Director, Global Marketing: Travis Tan
Art Director: Chase Tarkington
Director of Broadcast Production: Milby Shannon
Agency: CONVICTS
Chief Creative Officer / Director: Tom Law
Business Director & Producer: Dylan Roley
Executive Producer: Pete Maiden
CONVICTS Agency Team:
Creative Director: Sharkey Weinberg
Business Director: Abby White
Producer: Chris Fitzsimmons
Voiceover: Mick Fanning
Editor: Andrew Holmes
Post-Production: Heckler, Sydney
Executive Producer: Will Alexander
Post Producer: Isobel Jones
Music & Sound: Heckler Sound
Sound Design: Dave Robertson & Myles Lowe
Executive Producer: Bonnie Law
Colorist: Fergus Rotherham
Design: Sam Chirnside
