Fair Harbor, a sustainable swimwear brand whose beachwear is made from recycled plastic bottles, turns to a gruffy old sea captain for its first national TV campaign.

Two spots by agency Walrus feature the surly gent warning viewers not about perfect storms or whales—but of “chafing.”

His mission is to save beachgoers’ thighs from inferior mesh-lined swim trunks. “Have you seen what chafing does to a man?” he asks grimly in one spot. “I have.” In another spot he pronounces: “Twas sand, salt and mesh swim trunks that did them in.”

The campaign, running on national TV across properties such as ESPN, Food Network, TruTV, Vice and Comedy Central, seeks to raise Fair Harbor’s profile and drive sales of its signature swim trunks as Americans shift into vacation-planning mode this spring. 

“The Fair Harbor sea captain was one of the first concepts we shared, and it instantly felt like the right approach for this particular brand and objective,” said Jillian Dresser, creative director at Walrus, in a statement. “Our sea captain’s Moby Dick is essentially the uncomfortable chafing caused by competitors’ swim trunks, and we thought it was a perfect distillation of the brief.”

Fair Harbor has so far recycled more than 20 million plastic bottles to make its swimwear. Sibling co-founders Caroline and Jake Danehy launched their family brand in 2014, inspired by their childhood spent in Fire Island.

“Walrus helped us think outside the box and stand apart from the rest of the category with a distinctive, entertaining concept,” said Caroline Danehy, who is also the brand’s chief creative officer. “We can’t wait to see where our sea captain goes next.”

Thor Raxlen at Lair directed the spots. The campaign also includes radio and out-of-home, and media was handled by Sound Communications.