Hasta La Ideas

For the best part of ten years, Guinness ads bearing the slogan Good Things Come To Those Who Wait  have worked wonders for the drinks brand, garnering fans of both the drink and its advertising around the world. However, tonight a new TV commercial – created by the brand’s long serving agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO – will air that sees a new campaign line, Bring It To Life, make its debut…

The ad, entitled World (still shown above), sees a group of men playing god and creating a world of their own: Canyons are carved, forests erected and waterfalls are, erm, encouraged – the idea being that this world-creation is a metaphor for the famous surge and settle motion of a pint of Guinness and the way it comes alive in front  of your eyes when poured.

Here is the full 90 second edit for your delectation:

Of the new approach for Guinness’ advertising, this is what AMV’s executive creative director, Paul Brazier, had to say:

“Good Things Come To Those Who Wait ran for ten triumphant years. However every advertising campaign has a natural lifecycle. ‘Good Things’ was firmly rooted in the experience of drinking in a pub, yet Guinness is also increasingly popular at home and we wanted to find out how we could persuade more people to experience Guinness wherever they were.

“The answer, we believed, lay in another product truth – the fact that Guinness does not pre-exist in a container waiting to be poured. Instead it comes to life in front of your eyes. The liquid hits the bottom of the glass. There’s an explosion of energy. Clouds form – churning, swirling and surging. They defy gravity, moving downwards and then upwards, leaving behind perfect Guinness. At the same time, almost by magic, a creamy white head forms on the drink. When the process finishes something amazing has been created.

“If we could capture this thought we could start to get people to see Guinness, and therefore the Guinness occasion, in a new light – as a drink full of energy, colour and life appropriate for any lively, enriching drinking occasion.

“Thus the line ‘Guinness. Bring It To Life’ was born. Based on a product truth which reframes the drink making it more contemporary and relevant to a new audience and the way they now consume alcohol. A thought that can encompass more than advertising – experiential, digital – and can live wherever and whenever Guinness is drunk.

“World is the first significant Guinness TV commercial to carry the line. So it not only has to meet the standard set by previous Guinness ads, but also to introduce and explain this new thought. We wanted it to be a big and bold first step. And what could be bigger than showing a group of men building a world – bringing it to life.

“It was important that the film looked real, so we shot as much as possible in camera, in a number of locations – New Zealand, Fiji and Canada. The director was Johnny Green and the directors of photography were Wally Pfister  (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) in the Southern hemisphere and Joost Van Gelder in the Northern.”

The new ad will break tonight in HD on Sky Sports 2 HD during the Champions League Liverpool vs Olympique Lyonnais match at 8.45pm. It will play out on ITV1 during the Champions League Arsenal v AZ Alkmaar match around the same time.

World credits

Director – Johnny Green
Executive Producer –  N/A
Producer – Fergus Brown
Advertising Agency – Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
Creative – Paul Brazier
Agency Producer – Yvonne Chalkley
Production Company – Knucklehead  
Director of Photography – Wally Pfister / Joost Van Gelder
Music – composed by Peter Raeburn and Nick Foster at Soundtree called ‘Cathartic Waltz’
TV Sound Design / mix – Raja Sehgal & Munzie Thind at Grand Central Studios
Cinema mix – Raja Sehgal at Grand Central Studios
CGI – The Mill, London

So a big production and a spanky new strapline… but is the ad any good? Your thoughts and comments please…