Spy Dude
December 2006
East London’s champions caught up in an African surf war
Industry giants put pressure on premier voice to ignore local sponsor
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 19 December, 2006 : - - South Africa’s top surfer has lashed out, saying the country’s surfers have become the victims in the battle of the surf brands. Caught in the middle of the fight between local and international industry heavyweights is the country’s only local surfing magazine, Zigzag.
Top East London surfer Greg Emslie, currently ranked 19th in the world, claims it has been put under pressure to favour certain surfers because of their sponsors. He claims Zigzag has discriminated against surfers and events sponsored by South African clothing label, Mr Price Red.
“Foreign-owned clothing brands have been given a monopoly on magazine coverage, and it’s damaging surfing in South Africa,†Emslie told the Daily Dispatch yesterday. He reckons young surfers sponsored by Mr Price Red have been sidelined in favour of those sponsored by such established surf companies as Billabong and Quiksilver. “The magazine is the premier voice of surfing but it is ending careers before they have started,†he said.
Emslie also claimed his own coverage in the Durban-based magazine dropped after he made the switch from Billabong to Mr Price Red in 2004. The company also sponsors the Mr Price Pro, which is South Africa’s only six-star surf competition. Emslie accused Zigzag publisher Craig Sims of giving in to demands from the established surf industry.
The local boss of Quicksilver and the marketing executives from Billabong and Mr Price confirm that there is no love lost between the established surf industry and Mr Price. Last year, Sims described the rift between the companies as a “crisis†that was threatening the magazine’s editorial integrity and that there was, indeed, pressure by major advertisers.
He called on media lawyers to bring Quicksilver SA boss Arthur Limbouris and Mr Price Red’s marketing exec Clynt Lund to a meeting to stop the companies fighting it out in his magazine. After three days of negotiations, Limbouris and Gary Green of Volcom agreed on behalf of “the industry†to withdraw pressure on Zigzag’s holding company, Atoll Media, to limit editorial coverage of Mr Price or Red.
In return, on the advertising side, Lund agreed that none of Atoll Media’s publications, including Zigzag, blunt and Saltwater Girl, should publish advertisements from Mr Price, Red or Mr Price Pro, an international surfing competition held in South Africa. At the time, Sims felt content that the meeting had achieved its goal of saving Zigzag and Atoll Media from becoming “casualties†of the battle of the brands.
A year later, however, Lund said the agreement had not been fulfilled. “We agreed to a truce ... but they have not featured our riders in the magazine ... they have not kept up their end of the arrangement,†he told the Daily Dispatch. Emslie was not the only surfer to claim they had been affected.
Other Red surfers including East Londoner Clinton Gravett and Capetonian Stacey Guy also feel hard done by. “The amount of times I appeared in the mag had definitely dropped since I switched to Red,†she told the Daily Dispatch. Last week Limbouris, chief executive of Quicksilver South Africa, denied putting pressure on Zigzag. “We are not dictating to the magazine how to cover anything.â€
But Billabong advertising executive Sean Holmes was unapologetic about the cut-throat competition. “We have to protect the industry,†he said.
Billabong South Africa, which had helped build the surfing image and was a long-time supporter of Zigzag, wanted to maintain its position. The arrival of Mr Price Red was not helping. “From a competition point of view it’s awesome, but we have to ask how does it affect the industry?â€
Last week, Sims denied that the rift between industry and Mr Price Red continued to impact on the magazine’s integrity. But Lund had already questioned the editorial integrity of Sims’ magazines – in April last year – after photographs of Mr Price Red team members were published with their logos changed, to show a different sponsor.
Sims said the photographs were supplied as digital files by Quicksilver and Volcom, the surfers’ new sponsors. “I don’t know if they digitally altered them or if stickers were placed on the board for the shoot,†he said. Sims said he noticed the changes but published the photos with the switched logos because the magazine was published after the surfers’ contract with Red had expired. “Otherwise I’d never have accepted the photos,†he said.
“To be honest with you, I really needed the photos as the issue was very low on action and that influenced my decision to use them.†After apologising to Lund, Sims pointed out that he made a small act of defiance against industry pressure in awarding the magazine’s “blow-up†award to a Red-sponsored rider, Brad Momsen.
“Probably have to deal with the consequences of that but what the hell, the kid rips and he deserves the recognition,†said Sims. Sims dismissed Emslie’s claims as “conspiracy theories†and maintained that Atoll Media editorial space was not under threat. He also defended the advertising policy, including its decision to bar Mr Price Red advertising from its magazines.
As premium product, they only allowed advertising space to premium brands.
As a result of this policy, Sims refused to publish an advert congratulating Red surfer Tammy Lee Smith after she won the Billabong Pro last year. When Lund requested a full-page advert in Zigzag’s sister publication, Saltwater Girl, Sims replied that he would rather “eat wormsâ€.
