FINLAND – To promote its 4G network, Finnish telco DNA challenged a kite-surfer who had never before braved the deep oceans to cross the icy Gulf of Finland and smash a world record on his wind-propelled board.
As part of its “100 Minute Challenge” campaign, hasan & partners designed the challenge to not only promote DNA’s network speed, but to highlight its constant efforts to provide a fast and reliable infrastructure.
Daredevil Juuso Tilaéus kite surfed the 80km from the Estonian city of Tallinn to Helsinki in just over two hours – 60-minutes faster than the previous record-holder – and the same time that it takes for passenger ferries to make the crossing.
Juuso braved icy and unpredictable waves across the Gulf in order to harness the region’s infamous Eastern wind, which blows strongest for just two weeks every year. He suffered from cramp and was barely able to move on arrival.
DNA’s 100 minute challenge World Record from hasan & partners on Vimeo.
Mikael Nemeschansky, creative director at hasan & partners, said, “As DNA challenges itself to be the best in its field, we decided to test someone from a totally different field to exceed themselves. We waited for two months for perfect seas, but they never came, and our kite-surfer Juuso Tilaéus had to push himself beyond normal limits in very challenging conditions – exactly how DNA manages its network every day.”
Juuso Tilaéus explained: “I knew it would be really difficult, but I would never have imagined it would be so tough. The water was freezing, the waves were bigger than me, incredibly powerful and physically demanding. When I finally saw the shoreline of Helsinki, I felt incredibly relieved.”
As Juuso came ashore at Pea Island in 120 minutes and 26 seconds, he was met by residents following the hashtag #100minuuttia.
Russian Peter Tyuskevich was the first person to kite surf across the Gulf of Finland in June 2011, he took just over three hours.
