To mark St. Patrick’s Day, the ads creative solutions team took a trip to our local for a pint or two of Guinness. It got us thinking of how their branding and advertising, whether a video or still image, always stands out from the crowd and sticks in your mind.

Join us as we run through a handful of the best Guinness adverts from across the years.

My Goodness, My Guinness

Whilst these are the oldest adverts on our list, there’s a good chance they’re one of the most recognisable. If you’re a regular Guinness drinker, or familiar with the brand, you’re bound to recognise John Gilroy’s famous artwork of the pelican, the Guinness drinking ostrich, or the alligator, to name a few.

Gilroy’s work was used from the 1930’s through to the 1960’s and is still just as distinctive today as it was back then. If you’re looking at branded merchandise, there’s a high chance it will include some of Gilroy’s designs.

Holding Out For a Zero

Releasing a 0% Guinness was always going to come with a host of challenges, so mastering the launch was a vital part of the campaign’s success.

Using Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out for Hero as the backing soundtrack, we saw pints of 0% Guinness singing along to the infamous tune. Aside from the editing, the ad is quite simple, which plays into its success.

We’ll let the ad do the talking, or should we say, singing…

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

Regular drinkers of the black stuff will know a well-poured pint shouldn’t be rushed. Those who don’t drink it may wonder why their round takes so long to get, or why the bar staff rolled their eyes when ordering a Guinness last.

We won’t bore you with the finer details, but for the best pint, Guinness should be left to settle for around 60-80 seconds halfway through the pour.

The Good Things Come To Those Who Wait advert plays on the lengthy waiting game it takes to achieve the “perfect” Guinness.

The Surfer

Arguably the best Guinness advert, or even the best ad of all time, the Guinness Surfer is recognised by so many people.

The black and white masterpiece was ahead of its time with the combination of live-action footage, mixed in with CGI and the Cranberries’ soundtrack topping it all off.

Like Holding Out For a Zero, we’ll let the ad do the talking…

Always On My Mind

After the lockdown, as pubs began to reopen, Guinness launched the advert “Always on My Mind”.

The campaign celebrated the eagerly awaited moment when pubs and bars across the country welcomed guests back after months of closure.

Using everyday objects with a black body and white top, the campaign cleverly depicted pints of Guinness in various settings.

The inspiration behind the “Looks Like a Guinness” campaign stemmed from the shared experience of longing for familiar sights missed during the pandemic.

Conclusion

The above examples are only a handful of how good Guinness’ marketing is, in fact, it’s so good that we wrote a separate blog on what makes Guinness such a powerhouse in marketing. Click the button below to give it a read.