Millions around the world will celebrate St Patrick’s Day on Monday (17 March), the annual festival of Irish history and culture.
It’s also a day for sampling Ireland’s best beverages, and for many, that means one thing – “a pint of the black stuff”.
Guinness was founded in 1759 and for 170 years, it didn’t produce a single advert. But in February 1929, that changed, and the stout brewery’s first ad appeared with the slogan: ‘Guinness is Good for You’.
Since then, Guinness has been the subject of many famous ad campaigns. Here, Marketing Beat takes a look at some of the most memorable.
‘Round up your mates’
Released in 2012, this advert showcases a sheepdog herding a group of friends like sheep.
Devised by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, the ad shows the men being herded past some of their favourite locations, such as the couch right before a big game, to the pub to enjoy a pint of Guinness.
‘Surfer’
Part of an integrated marketing campaign in 1999, the ad shows a Polynesian surfer taking on a massive wave.
Surfer won more awards than any other campaign in the 1999 awards season, taking home accolades including Cannes Lions, D&AD Awards and the Clio Awards.
It was devised by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and took inspiration from the painting ‘Neptune’s Horse’ by Walter Crane.
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‘Swimblack’
‘Swimblack’ premiered in 1998 and depicts an old Italian swimmer racing against the clock to secure his pint.
The ad, directed by Jonathan Glazer at Academy Films, is part of the ‘Good things come to those who wait creative platform, which aimed to show consumers that the time it took to pour a pint was well worth the wait.
The ad was devised by AMV BBDO.
‘Sapeur’
Another offering from creative agency AMV BBDO, the campaign brings to life the lives of the ‘Sapeurs, elegantly dressed men living in the Congo.
The advert was first shown in the UK in January 2014.
The media agency for the campaign was Carat.
John Gilroy
And no round-up of Guinness ads would be complete without mentioning John Gilroy, the mastermind behind the brand’s advertisements from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Some of his most famous work includes the Guinness Toucan and the stout drinking Ostrich.
It was hard to pick just one piece of his work, but a favourite piece of ours features a woebegone zookeeper trying to rescue a pint from a playful sea lion.
