Agency: Saatchi and Saatchi
Client: Guinness
Guinness has launched its first ever global advertising campaign in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the lease on St. James’s Gate Brewery.
Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA is the lead creative agency behind the world-wide Guinness 250 campaign centering on the visionary founder Arthur Guinness, which brings the proposition of ‘Inspiring the truly remarkable’ to life.
The Guinness 250 programme includes a global advertising campaign, a groundbreaking consumer promotion and ‘Arthur’s Day’ events on 24th September, 2009 being held around the world in cities including Dublin, New York, Lagos and Kuala Lumpur.
“Guinness is one of the world’s most iconic brands and we feel that it is a fitting tribute to use this milestone to launch our first ever global advertising campaign,” said Ronan Beirne, Global Marketing Manager.
“Guinness 250 will also be giving people around the world the opportunity to win truly extraordinary experiences and attend amazing events throughout 2009.”
The television commercial (TVC) focuses on a toast to Arthur Guinness that stretches to all four corners of the world. It will until end September. The actual air dates will vary from market to market but never before has a Guinness advert been used on this global scale.
The advertisement begins in a traditional Irish pub in Dublin, when a GUINNESS drinker notices the 1759 date on his Guinness pint glass and raises his glass to toasts its founder, Arthur Guinness.
Nearby, another person hears the toast, likes the sentiment and also raises a pint of the black stuff to Arthur. The toast then rings out onto the street amongst more Guinness drinkers – ‘To Arthur’ they all say. Before long, the toast has spread across oceans and mountains, all around the world.
There are two versions of the global advert. One humorous version sees the toast ‘To Arthur’ go around the world changing and morphing as it travels from person to person becoming a toast ‘To Farmers,’ ‘To Llamas’, ‘To Parsnips’ and beyond. This edit will air in the UK, Ireland and parts of Asia.
Another version sees everyone around the globe raising a glass to Arthur, which will air in Africa and parts of Asia. The ad was directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet through Partizan.