Surfing: Brought to you by...
Written by Ben Matson, Swellnet's founder and bloke in charge.
Over the last four days Swellnet has been running a sponsorship campaign on our homepage 'Wave Of The Day' photo. Section sponsorships like these are sporadic, but certainly not new to Swellnet – it's one of a couple of different ways we generate revenue in and around standard banner advertising.
However, the response to this campaign was something new.
The sponsor is Hungry Jack's and the presence of their logo on our WOTD raised criticism on our Facebook page which reached a peak over the weekend, just a couple of days into the month-long campaign. Interestingly, we received no commentary on our own website or via email, only on Facebook. This may suggest something in the nature of social media but it's also worth exploring.
Amongst a wide range of feedback (all of which was acknowledged as much as was possible on the first wave-filled weekend in ages!) the common thread seem to be that Swellnet shouldn't be associating with, or promoting, fast food brands.
When we enquired whether soft drinks, energy drinks, breweries or other alcohol sponsors would be more acceptable, many respondents were quick to justify their presence, due to their 'prior advertising history with surfing', and more interestingly, their synergies with the surfing lifestyle.
It appeared this wasn't, as it first seemed, simply a health issue. And that brings about an interesting juxtaposition: At what point should non-surfing (or 'non-endemic') brand advertising become acceptable on a surfing website? And how does a brand transcend traditional advertising to suddenly become 'accepted' within the surfing lifestyle?
Over the last eleven and a half years, Swellnet has relied almost exclusively on advertising to remain a free service. And due to the surf industry's slow advertising migration from print media to online, we've had to look further afield for sources of revenue.
We've run successful campaigns from a wide range of advertisers, including car manufacturers, alcohol brands, electronic companies, energy drinks, men's health products, and breakfast cereals. None of which have invoked a reaction like what we've seen with the inclusion of a small Hungry Jack's logo on our Wave Of The Day.
Putting aside personal preferences, it's worth pointing out that soft drink, energy drink and fast food companies are three of the largest sporting advertisers in the country. Most consumers wouldn't bat an eyelid at seeing a multitude of sponsor logos on a football guernsey or V8 Supercar. However surfing's position as a recreational sport puts it into a unique category – and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Still, it'd be good to erect some borders around this issue.
Lastly, it's also worth noting that prior to the inception of the Dream Tour, sponsorship of surf contests was split roughly 50/50 between surfing companies and non-endemics. After a few years of surf industry exclusivity the ratio is shifting again courtesy of the GFC and industry shake up. //BEN MATSON
Comments
Got no problem with it on this website guys. you run a fantastic service and there are costs associated with that. Pretty obvious to me that you're not trying to push HJs as part of the surfing 'lifestyle', the haphazard nature of your advertising sources makes that pretty clear.
Refreshingly, you let the surfers themselves speak for what this pursuit means to them rather than try to sell it as anything, let alone generate brand association.
Cheers
I kinda feel like a Whopper right now.
I couldn't care less about the little logo, it's a free service, quality product and you guys have to pay the bills somehow.
What would they prefer, surfing advertorial?? As long as they don't try to influence your editorial direction, explicitly or implicitly, then I could care less who advertises on Swellnet.
Can you remove the Jack Johnson ads please?
It destroys the picture. Been a hungry jacks logo makes it look more cheap. Thought you guys had a bit more class then the others. Pretty sure cw have had a corona logo for ages tacking up their wotd. Did you guys fade the logo out a bit so it wasn't so obvious?
didn't even notice it till now, I switched off the ads along time ago, I only see what I want.
It's 300km's to the nearest HJ's so I only get to eat it once a month. It's one of the joys of going to town to eat a Whopper! Great that Swellnet is a free service and a bit of advertising is a small price to pay.
Ahah!! I thought it was a bit weird at first but now you've cleared it up..when I was a grom living in Radelaide...the only things open for dawnie breakky's were macca's! bacon& egg mcmuffin meals washed down with an oj was sweet.! Unfortunately I can't see a café opening up at 3-4-5 in the morning.
I'm starting to see HJ's everywhere now, thats weird, didn't really notice it too much before.
Don't eat the stuff at all tho.
Its your guys master piece and if ads make things easier, its all good.
Love the Nike sign on the indigenous fellas board up above, now thats sneaky advertising.
Gidday Ben,
Well well well, even though I'm just a big, rippling, raw boned, talented, athletic, good looking guy, even I'm not everywhere or on top of every development. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have to admit, I don't remember giving you permission to advertise hamburgers ever.
I'll probably get severely reprimanded for going off at you, but I think its time I finally come clean...I, I, I am, I am a vegan...
And further more, if this sort of despicable stuff keeps up, you and Stu and Craig and the other hangers on will really, really, really get it, you'll be really, really sorry you were ever born. Because... I will never ever, ever, never, ever, not even once, never even speak to you again, promise, cross my heart and hope to die, ever, not even one word, so there, cop that! Never, not even once, ever, never...so there! Never. Ever.
Thanks for the comments everyone. rees0, yeah we reduced the opacity to try and make it less 'in your face', however we are limited in the options we have to make any changes. We've got a few other ideas to try as well but everything requires approval from the advertiser so we'll see how they pan out.
It sure looks unsightly. Any type of fast food goes against my values, but it would be self-centred to ask a company to only advertise with sponsors that reflect my personal values.
Heals, is it just the HJ logo that looks unsightly or would any logo look unsightly? How about a Coke ad? Or Subway? Or Jim Beam?
It did freak me out at first just because the flashing of the adds, number of adds on the homepage as well as the water mark on the WOTD, but stiff shit you guys gotta pay the bills somehow, and most of us would be too tight to pay for the service anyway. Run any adds you want guys keep it up you do an awesome job. Jeez we had to put up with labor adds during the election, why didn't anyone kick up a stink about them?
Ben, your main defense of your choice of sponsor is that it's ok cause every one else is doing it! That doesn't make it ok. Did you guys consider chasing a sponsor that promotes health and is aligned to surfing. I think this is the question you need to address. We all understand that swellnet survives on ad revenue, and yes we all think the site is bloody great. But, seriously... given the high traffic your site gets, the huge FB fans you have, I am positive there could have been alternatives. And, one last point.. HJ's ads and branding is but ugly.
I think you guys are awesome!! Great work on lowering the opacity. Much better. I've been enjoying the Mentawais posts cause my bro is over there at the moment. Thanks for your help with their board sich Ben.
I work for an online media outlet. My wage is paid by ads. It's funny how people dont always understand that the paper they read is subsidised . Nearly everything in media is subsidised. People say to me that the online news I work for has too many ads and I'm torn between defending and sighing.
The Messenger in Adelaide pays 75000 a week to just buy the paper it's printed on before it hits the driveway and decomposes into the garden. Thats pre printing.
Every industry has it's challenges. I love love love the surfcams and can ignore a logo for the sake of them but I understand why it's a hard thing to swallow for a community of relatively healthy active people who realise that noone wants to surf a wave full of fast food wrappers and the environmental impact of fast food chains is a real issue.
I personally think that burgers arent very good for me. I'd rather a nice curry after the ocean.
benwuana, are you suggesting that Hungry Jacks is the only sponsor we've spoken to about these kinds of opportunities?
It's easy to watch from a distance and say how you'd do things differently if it were your business, but the reality at the coal face is much different.
By the way, who is your Top 10 list of 'alternative' brands, who 'promote health' and are 'aligned to surfing'? Let me know and I'll make sure they're on our call sheet.
Thanks for the nice words Nat. $75K just in paper costs for The Messenger? Crikey, that's a lot of classified ads for 'Hire a Hubby' just to cover costs.
While you're talking things corporate, have you looked into the Model Release issue?
Might be an idea to run it past the legal guys. If the surfer's depicted can show that the their likeness is being used to promote Hungry Jacks they are legally entitled to compensation. In this case it's the photographer who is responsible for obtaining Model Release. Imagine if you run a pic of someone who is sponsored by another rival fast food company or even just someone who didn't want to associated with Hungry Jacks at all then they are enetitled to big bucks and more (I'm betting) than your photographers can afford.
Ben, I'm unsure what companies you have approached - and I make no suggestions that you solely targeted HJ's.
I understand the commercial realities of business and fully appreciate you need to generate as much dosh as you can. Regardless, I am positive your company is in the enviable position of being able to be more selective in choosing a sponsor (which is awesome, you deserve to be in that position). Which then begs the question why HJ's?
I guess the bottom line is HJ is willing to pay the most. Maybe that's all that matters?
On the top 10 brands, I has hoping you could give us that list. You've obviously spoken about various sponsors.
benwuana, I'm not going to use this comment section to discuss the way I run my business. However, I will point out that your assertions are incorrect.
Out of interest (given your comments above), do you currently work in advertising?
I love this and it happens quite a lot. People complain about a particular advert and it (the advert) ends up getting even more exposure from the complaints compared to what would have happened if there were no complaints at all.
And FFS, it's only Hungry Jacks guys. If you don't like their food don't fecking eat it. It's your choice. If ya don't like the ads, don't look at the site. It's YOUR choice. No one is holding a gun to ya head here. If ya don't like it, vote with your finger and don't click on the site.
Hungry Jacks must be lovin this thread!!!
how come there were never any complaints about the dominos advertising on the site? what is the difference between the two? do the people complaining on facebook even look at the site? or do they just see the WOTD pic on facebook and therefore see the HJ's advert and thats the only reason they are complaining... they also have no problems with swellnet having nike adverts on it? i'd say nike would be a lot more ethically questionable (does that even make sense) than old HJ's? what about ebay? rental cars? the list goes on... none of these companies are aligned with surfing and its culture?? why the sudden whinge about HJ's? fark some people really need a clue!
so a HJ burger consists of 100% beef, tomato, lettuce, onion,sauce, mayo and a bread roll-fastfood yes -good tucker yes
Trivial research time! The sponsors of the first five events of the 1990 season were:
Coke (two events)
Pepsi (one event)
Bundaberg Rum (one event)
Gunston 500 cigarettes (one event)
Mmmmmmm..... Juicy, flame-grilled beef.
Last time I had a Whopper was in an airport ages ago, it was delicious.
Come to think of it, I could go one right now:)
Slice of pizza wouldn't go astray either.
And that salted caramel chocolate mousse sounds dreamy.
I think I'll whack on a bit of Jack Johnson while I'm pigging out too.
Damn you to hell Swellnet!
Who made the decree surfing and healthy simply equate or should? I may think that it can at times be healthy and may wish that to be the case but does surfing simply equate to "health" because I paddle about in nature. Well, no.
i guess i stand alone in my thoughts. i preserve them and truly believe the new look of swellnet is terrible, as is the message. end rant.
i do dig your service and thank you for it.
ben, to answer your question yep i have worked in advertising.
so benwuana u had no problem with it when it was just dominos pizza??
i mean if Little Athletics in Australia can justify having McDonalds as it's major sponsor, and every other sporting code to have either a fast food, or beer sponsor then surely Swellnet can make a bit of cash from HJ's... i also loved the bloke trying to argue that a beer sponsor is alright but a fast food sponsor isn't... how is either any better for your body?
Was it part of the deal with HJs to include a promotional editorial? In a more dystopian world, yes, but we're not there, yet. I say harness all the advertising as you can, so long as it does not damage the quality reports and editorial pieces with PR junk then its all good. To willingly turn down advertising that would have no effect to the integrity of the busines is stupid, from a business perspective. When the surf report reads: "Tiny 1ft peaks, best give it a miss today, but don't miss the great Mcvalue meal offered at Hungry Jack, get in quick!" then all hope is lost.
Really; previously worked in advertising And your taking a moral stance on a hamburger chain on a surfing website.
Surfers are the last counter culture I would be comparing to a healthy image. Alcohol, durries, drugs, the list goes on. Just go to any asp contest party and see how the top level athletes behave
I don't quite understand the hj stand, is it because your vegan? They have veggie burgers as well if it helps
The hypocrisy on the stances people take on the internet just astound me sometimes...
Even more cool is google data banking your every key stroke, so it can target deliver that special Ad just for you via SN.
Mine as I just opened the SN homepage was w-w-w-dot-goldreport65-dot-net .
Hey how cool is that,? who'd have thunk it, it's amaaaaaazing.
I can only conclude, you guys must have been piggy pigging on hamburger websites today.
Seriously, badging shots and Cams is a great idea for SN, keep it smallish in the corner, maybe consider a shadow badge (black and white).
A small inconvenience for free content and free speech.
did any of the complainants offer to pay Swellent money for the removal of the 'offensive' logo?
What's this got to do with surfing?
"A small inconvenience for free content and free speech."
Nail.On.Head. Unbelievable that some people complain about a small logo but devour surf advertorial without question. I hesitate to say it, but keep it real Swellnet.
Anyone checked the coastalwatch mobile site. Designed for mobile browsing and no ads. Looks great!
So what's your point benwuana? Are you suggesting we should provide a free service and also not run any ads either? How do we then pay the bills?
I dont think theres much to it Ben. Many people yesterday made it clear Benwuana's argument is untenable and then a few raised doubts about his claims to an advertising background. Ridiculed and in retreat he's now trying to test the 'free speech' envelope and cause as much damage as possible.
In war it's called the scorched earth policy, in these circumstances it's just petty and small.
I think having the logo on the featured Facebook pics is a lot different to adds on websites etc, on the FB pic having advertising is very in you face, especially as people share pics, its in the content we focus on rather than beside it, its attached and even if we want we can't avoid it or separate ourselves fro it, good for hungry jacks but not for viewer.
For me personally the fact its Hungry jacks is not a problem, i don't buy into the healthy argument, id much rather there be just your own Swellnet watermark, that said im not one of the FB complainers.
As for advertising on websites, its not a problem for me unless there pop ups or adds at the start of vids, then they really shit me.
Advertising on Facebook a while back was really starting to shit me with suggested post, sponsored stories etc especially in my news feed, luckily i found a way to stop it google "Social fixer" works well and had no bugs and doesn't effect page loading etc, highly recommend.
The key here - because advertising isn't going away any time soon - to find the right kind of balance between integration and integrity. We'll certainly take on board everyone's suggestions in order to try and improve things for the next campaign.
However, it's an extremely competitive advertising environment at the moment (not just in surf media), with thousands of websites all vying for the same pool of advertising dollars. So in order to remain viable we have to offer a range of opportunities across Swellnet, otherwise we'll simply be left behind.
I agree with the general consensus here, whilst HJ's is neither an ethical or Australian company, this site provides a service and bills must be paid. The question that pops up into my mind is "Would they draw a line?". If say a petro-chemical or pharmaceutical company offered a lucrative contract would SN accept? I guess it comes down to personal values, to whether you the viewer find HJ's (or any other branding) offensive or not.
Zeph, we actually discuss potential advertising opportunities with many companies each and every day of the year. That's our business model.
But at the consumer/viewer end, you guys only see what's approved and activated.
What goes on behind the scenes - and therefore 'what lines are drawn' - is kept out of the public eye.
morning all :-)
ben, in answer to your question... you've gotta have paid advertising. that's your income. the result of your advertising is an awesome free service for 'joe public'. As i stated previously, thank you for what you do.
i went off track with the coastalwatch remark, but I have to admit there mobile app is very user friendly and doesn't contain ads which works well on small screens. perhaps worth considering?
top_to_bottom_bells happy to discuss with you (or anyone else) about my background if you really care to know.
At the end of the day, people will have differing opinions about your choice of sponsor. I've expressed my opinion. I'm not a faceless, behind closed doors social media abuser. Just expressing my view.
So with that said... i'm closing the door to the debate. frankly it's getting real boring.
I'm off surfing. peace out.
" happy to discuss with you"
"with that said... i'm closing the door to the debate"
Think that sums it up. Unless you're using your real name you, like the rest of us, are just a cipher and you're relevance rests on your arguments, which you didn't have.
Bye bye "Benwuana".
your name is top-to-bottom-bells? that's rad man!
Hi Ben,
I have emailed you a lengthy letter regarding this article you have written. Yes me email is long, and attempts to be comprehensive.
I have not used the online forum to make comment previously but I am doing it here to try to get your attention to my contribution to you through your online feedback web form.
Have you received my email?
It covers theory I think relevant to this advertising issues you raise in your article.
I would really like to be able to communicate with you directly, rather than you holding all the communication power by sitting behind your website, so I ask that you email me back, or send me a personal message.
I have tried to be of help, and I've also asked for assistance in return.
Could you give me a response?
Anthony (student at Adelaide as said in my email)
Opps, typo, "yes my email is"
Anthony
Yes Anthony, I received your email about twenty minutes ago. I'm flat out at the moment but will respond when I get some time.
Benwuana may have gone surfing, however it should be noted that CW is supported by substantial amounts of government funding hence they have a different relationship with advertising revenue, which enables such things as no ads mobile app.
Anyway as Sid points (jeez, I'm agreeing with Sid!) out all online clicks are monitored anyway so what you see ain't the real issue. Your data that is farmed. It is YOU that is being bought and sold. Well, various data that comes to now constitute "you".
And regarding all the crew on Facebook complaining about HJ advertising: they're using FB where all their data is mined and sold on, as well as using a company that has been complict with the surveillance of the NSA (in the U.S.A). How's those ethics, again?
Anthony, why don't you post some bullet points of your letter for the open forum. I for one would be interested in the theories you draw upon ... it could be interesting. Tough crowd here but the feedback is sometimes honest and I have found it helpful and learned from it.
Hi Ben,
Thanks for responding.. It makes me feel like my effort is appreciated.
I am kinda excited to hear from you. Or at best, speak to ya.
All the best for whatever you are busy with.
Anth
Hi Clif,
It is totally fair that you ask me about what I've communicated with Ben. I have looked at the forums quite extensively over time and on a wide variety of topics. I respect there is a community of people here who have come to know each other and tell their knowledge and views through this forum. I have not, and currently am not, a significant contributor to this forum. I posted to be in contact with Ben.
Please respect this.
Anthony
must be a tough decision you guys at swellnet have i.e keeping your morlas intact but also needing to pay the bills, my thoughts are that my health choices are very definite and i wont be buying hungry jacks because i see a small logo on your site! and if it is paying for me to be able to check the reports that i love so much every morning then who cares take there money by all means but its a tough one isnt it! advertising and marketing in general bothers me everything is over marketed there are so many products all which are probably bad for you and you dont probably need, even after watching the hurley pro today i mean i love watching the surfing but cant help think that the whole thing is set up to sell tshirts and boardshorts! for me its simple just dont look at the banners or try not to absorb the advertising but for swellnet its a much harder decision p.s hope hungry jacks dont read your article here and get upset!!!
It really works too.
Today driving back from hospital, my son said he wanted burgers for lunch. 2 whoppers & a onion rings later we're back driving home again.
I think it was about 2010 since I willingly and soberly bought a fast food burger.
@ Zephatalien would it really be so bad if a petrochemical company was the add sponsor?
I think as surfers we would be hypocrite if we got upset about that as correct me if im wrong but i thought most surfing products are made from petrochemicals, blanks, resins, wetsuit rubber, maybe plastics for our fins etc.
Yeah. Yup. Oi, shieet should broach that to an energy bigwig, get the ball rollin'?!. We are what we are, a consumer society. Evolving, adapting, anything goes. Surfing is in your face to the poor.
One of the main reasons I write for Swellnet is that they have never attempted to tell me what to write or to censor or edit anything I have submitted. To me that is the other side of this issue, I have written about obesity and alcohol abuse while they were carrying ads for alcohol and fast food. It's called editorial independence and it is rare enough to be worth supporting even when my own preference would be that they did not carry that type of advertising.
Perhaps a little perspective employed here wouldn't go astray either.
There is a lot worse things happening in the world than a bit of fast food, like no food / famine.
Its not ideal nutrition, but has its time and place. I can be partial to a Big Mac n Fries if on the road, some towns you go thru, McD, HJ and KFC is looking pretty good compared to the local take-away or chinese.
That said, I had to stop and think of the last time I had McD's and I don't think it was this year, so can't quite remember. Not a lot of that stuff around here or the coast I hang.
Hi Ben,
Have you received my second letter?
I recognised you were doing research (learning) through the forums for your advertising strategy at swellnet.
dude, I've given you a lot. The learning I received from studying, two letters over 1000 words. And the offer of friendship
Please be a quality person, and contact me in the real world..
All I really got left, because you are behind your media firewall is to say, all the best.
Man, what would Mick Fanning think of being ignored after offering assistance? i dont know him... but he has soul. you guys?
and ha, who thought of your front page pic by line, "clinical perfection in Indo" - one of you guys have read my contribution to you and used your creativity...
Anthony, I responded to your second email about two hours ago.
"Please be a quality person, and contact me in the real world. What would Mick Fanning think of being ignored after offering assistance?"
Not sure what you're talking about - you sent me two emails, I replied to them both. You commented on my article, and I replied.
Thanks for the offer of friendship, but I'm all sorted at this end.
What are you saying Anthony? Mick Fanning has soul?
I wrote and wrote and wrote to Mick offering my assistance and never got a reply. I even tried calling him once because I managed to get his number from his mum when I phoned her and pretended to be from the ASP. I told her that I had a big bouquet of flowers for him where I didn't know to send. She was lovely. I called him and the fucker hung up on me but not before threatening me with a restraining order. Can you believe that?
I even offered to fix his flat tyre once (I managed to stick a knife in it at the carpark of the Quik pro at Snapper) when he got back I was there waiting with my tyre lever. He just got this real scared look on his face, walked slowly backwards and dialled triple 0. The ungrateful bastard even got RACQ to fix it.
Anyway, Mick aint got no soul and I'm over him. I'm just going to slip into my wig, breast cancer awareness T-shirt and pink ribbon now and give Jules a bell. Now that guy has soul.
ben, tyler durdens back....and wants a friend, be nice
xxxxxx
Beat me to it @zenagain.
And now the free speech properties of the forum really come into play as the group mobilises to keep things on an even keel. Quite heartening for the human spirit really...
Ben
I know you have not responded to me via email. I gave you my email address but have not received a response in return. Can I send it to you again for you to respond?
I had some faith in my impressions of swellnet and you, and thought I would offer what I knew, and asked for some help in return.
I don't wish to play celebrity games. I likely should not have mentioned my impressions about Mr Fanning. I don't know the guy. From my experience with him in the media, I hope my impression of him is true.
It appears to me that you, ben, want to play with my offer of assistance, because you have not emailed me back, and wish to put my attempt to communicate with you into your forums. To attract attention, conversation and increase page visits.
Ben, I offered what I know from my studies.. I really hoped I would be treated with respect for what I contributed directly to you and your company.
Is this what it has come to. Genuine offers of help, for request for assistance in return, and you wish to use my persona and commentary as source for page visits.
Was my contribution via my two emails helpful?
Regards, Anthony
Ha ha ha - what is it with the 'now' generation these days? Always expecting an instantaneous response to emails and texts. Anthony - if Ben says he's replied to your email I believe him. Ever considered it may have been blocked your end or something wrong with your email server? Ever considered he may actually have work to do? FFS - that's why I hate instant communication - people always think the worst when they don't get an instant reply! Why aren't they replying to me? Don't they like me anymore? What have I done to deserve this? Fcuken grow up.....
Anthony, I replied to your second email at 7:15am this morning, while I was having breakfast (sent to your hotmail address - the same address that I sent my first reply to).
I'll forward the original and you can check the headers.
Honestly, I don't have time to "play with your offer of assistance" - I've got a lot of work to do. And trust me, the extra impressions on this article as a result of your comments are negligible.
Please don't publicly insinuate that I haven't treated you with respect, because I spent quite a respectable amount of time writing both of my responses to you (rather than the standard one-line response you might get from other companies, that is if you're lucky to receive a response at all). In fact, my first reply was almost 500 words long - that's longer than many articles you'll read online.
So, for the third time - and this time in the public domain - thanks for your offer of assistance, but we're fine for now.
You're a funny guy Anthony, winding these people up by acting like a needy weirdo.
Well done they bought it too, thanks for the entertainment dude.
Ben, Ok.. I understand you are fine for now.
I was not trying to 'play'. I was offering what I have learned, and I believe I only asked for something of little cost to you, as a request.
Yes, ok. you are busy.
I have done my best, to offer help, and say, hey can you give me a hand!
I can only publicly say I have not received an email from you.
but this just gets, tit for tat, from hear on.
If you do want some help, or give me a hand. Please do.
You have not even said if what I know and gave has been helpful?
"Let's make this world - a good place to be"
All the best, Regards, Anthony
Do you drink alone Anthony?
Ding ding, Bushido gets it. Anthony comes across as a weird troll, but a troll nonetheless. Sort of funny, actually.
Anthony its o.k. we understand, goddam lunar cycle ...tmoro you will feel better.
Gidday Ben,
Well well well, another heart that youve broken. Another love child youve abandoned. Your a cold bastard.
Antman and me will never ever, ever, never, ever, not even once, never even speak to you again, promise, cross our hearts and hope to die, ever, not even one word, so there, cop that! Never, not even once, ever, never...so there! Never. Ever.
PS. Can you at least send some fries.
this all too funny!
i thought i was the asshole on this thread. i got nothing on Anthony. you take the biscuit man.
please tell us your your a comedian and all of your comments are part of a skit... or perhaps you're undertaking a PHD on "reactions to my online posting as a comedic freak"?
anthony is channeling david thorne.. funny, but its been done.
That's the guy, Bonza. Cheers. I was trying to think of his name. See here:
http://www.27bslash6.com/
Hi all,
opps, this may all look silly. But in actual truth, it's me just being truthful and trying to contact ben.
At about 12pm my time I had the insight to think, hey maybe his email went to my junk mail, you know coz of a public email filtering system. It did.
He did email me. So I publicly say, "Sorry for not checking my junk mail folder", "and not being patient"
And really it is best if I tried contact him, outside a public forum.
Excuse me please, Ben. Thank you for your consideration.
Anthony
When everything stops ... I can hear a banjo playing in the distance.
@braithy is the banjo man playing Eminem's Stan?
No, it's more like; Bette Midler's, 'Wind Beneath My Wings'.
I'm kinda turned on.
re: Anthony013, substitute BEN for DAN...you'll get the idea
*Sorry for not checking my junk mail folder*
Missed a big opportunity there, Tony, it could've been your Junk Food folder.
To the hell with them Ben. You guys do a great job and you deserve to find funding from whomever you can get. If all the naysayers and complainers don't want to see the ads, then you should offer them a membership ads free service. If they like the content and don't want to see or deal with the ads, they should be forced to pay for the content. Then we will see if they walk the walk or just talk the talk.
IMO the comments about HJ on your fB pics are actually more annoying then the logo.
I love Hungry Jacks! You can get burgers any time of day.., for example if you go for a first light dawn patrol, get out the surf after some sick pits and are starving. Oh no, the other food places only have girly-boy muffins with egg on them... At a time like this you need flamed grilled meat not metro-wuss food. You go get your hungry Jacks double whopper with cheese and two pieces bacon, large chips and coke...: and if you are still hungry have another one!
Wasn't coastalwatch running Liberal party ads in the lead up to the last election? That was pretty disturbing.
I consider surf photography art. Don't graffiti art by putting logos on it regardless of who the sponsor is. Ben you have a great business, keep the integrity of the WOTD logo free.
See today's WOTD on Facebook raku? We've got a new frame which incorporates the sponsor in a much more aesthetically pleasing way.
See here: http://swllnt.com/1ajBcab
Jeremy Shepherd on FB says: The waves are fatter at hungry jacks.
***I think jezza might be onto something.
Coming back from Brisbane today. It's a long soulless drive, my friends. Concrete surburbia on top of concrete surburbia ... Feeling hungry at Lognaholme, what's that I see on the horizon?
The HJ logo sang at me from the rooftops, and I answered its bluebird call to the tune of a Whopper and onion rings.
Twice in one month, and I don't think I've ever been this happy at anytime prior in my entire lifetime.
So thank you Ben and Swellnet. You've given me the opportunity to suckle from God's teat.
Tomorrow I'm thinking about a double cheeseburger meal with a toy.
Years ago, HJ's used to (on occaision) do a double swiss cheese burger with creamy mushroom sauce. Used to sell out so quickly.
I wish they'd bring that bad boy back.
The logo (when I saw it last on the WotD) looked out of place and vandalous to the photo. I'd like to see how SW have corrected this, but it seems that I was blocked by someone for making a comment that it looks horrible and SW are f%^king sellouts. Surely you guys have thicker skin than that? A brash but casual passing comment and you block people from being able to make comments? Nice work.
If you look through many posts on our website articles and our FB page, there's plenty of 'constructive criticism' which we happily leave unmoderated (and in most cases, respond to in some way, shape or form).
As such, it's unlikely that we blocked you - although there is a certain level of abuse that we won't tolerate, no matter how thick skinned you think we should be.
Just so you know, Facebook also automatically blocks posts that contain specific words or phrases (ie swearing), so it's then up to us to 'unblock' them. However, we don't have time to sit around all day looking for, and unblocking posts on Facebook.
Crankeyup2, Its happened to me a few times and I was not even swearing or being vulgar, I was actually putting a positive up on the board for SN...?
Maybe SW the South Westerly blew your post away while it was floating around in the inter dimensional realm.
Could of been a burnt chip that didn't pass thru HJ's.
Not sure but, have another go and write another.
:)
Abbreviations for Swellnet is it SN or SW..? That one got me.
Not sure why yours didn't show wellymon, perhaps we haven't checked the post since you commented. In any case you know your comments on Swellnet don't have such restrictions.
Abbreviation for Swellnet? It's always been SN to us. SW stands for Surfing World?
SN these ads are doing it for me :)
Not sure on the salted camel chocolate mouse thing especially after doing a 4 week working stint in Oman, an Omani once said to me whilst having a beer, "This is what we do with our camels when in the desert and a feeling a little touchy touchy"..?
The "Duntroon Royal Military Training", well thats a good one that did not work at all!
Being 12 yeras of age and having a Mum who thought her boy would turn out all lovely and important, she decided for me ? to go to a college that was accepted for the "Duntroon Royal Military Training", only because one of her best friends son had just graduated etc, woop dee doo.
Did'nt last long as I found out about surfing and weed. ooops.
But now you've got me , looking at the 4 days free "Big White" snowboard adventure, Never been there, not far from my favourite, Red Mtn and will be a good little by pass for my wife to get tuned in, before I get to Red for some serious action. Steeps and Trees. :)
Welly, I did a couple of weeks at Big White about 20 years ago when I used to ski. Mate of mines bro' had a condo right on the hill at 'Rosies' and was on the ski patrol.
From what I remember, the snow was lovely and there was a quite a lot of off piste, bowls and chutes and very nice long groomers.
Plus in the great Aussie spirit, I nearly ended up in hospital from alcohol poisoning.
Now I snowboard exclusively and to this day can't do shots;)
hey there Zenagain, shots are not the best , unless your young and dumb! ..:)
Was looking at Big White with the 4 day free thing, it could be different, i.e. stay at the bottom of the lift line and ride on etc. Its a place I have'nt been to as well as being a few hundred meters higher than Red and i have heard not bad things about it as well as giving my lovely lady a chance to get to her feet.
I'm pretty keen to get to Red Mtn this year as they are opening up Mt Grey, which is another skiable mtn right next door. This wiil transfer the punters over there and leave some lines, but saying that there are some awesome lines off the back of Grey as well.
But to tell the truth i do love the various ads, as stated from my past experiences above, ya gotta love ya mum, Eh, dear old soul.