Guinness TV Adverts

Guinness have an excellent collection of TV ads on their official site, www.guinness.com. On their page, “The Ads”, we’re introduced to the current round of advertising. We’ve featured a set of those advertisements in YouTube format here for your viewing pleasure.

Mustang

(2004) (Redemption)
A story of darkness and light… a group of ex criminals is taken from LA to a remote ranch for rehabilitation. One man stands out with his ability to gently befriend a wild mustang. After releasing the horse he is sent to find it. He is last seen riding through the hills on the horse. Click on the image below to play the video.

Mustang (Redemption) was developed at Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO by copywriters/art directors Nick Worthington and Paul Brazier with agency producer Carol Powell. Filming was shot by director Anthony Minghella via Paul Weiland Film Company, with director of photography Janusz Kaminski, and producer Mary Francis. Postproduction was done at Moving Picture Company by producer Ben Stallard, Inferno artist Alex Lovejoy and colourist Mark Horrobin. Editor was Lisa at The Whitehouse Post.

Moth

(2004)
A group of friends are lost in a forest. Seeing a swarm of moths, one of the young men realises that following the insects will lead them to any nearby source of light. He and his friends follow the moths, and end up joining a great party in the middle of the forest. Specific R & D was carried out for the project, with the development of a proprietary flocking system to emulate the way moths fly. Five different types of moths were modeled in Maya these included the Hawk, Atlas and Wax varieties, from these, derivatives were taken to create a mixed and more varied group. Each insect was then given its own flight path. All the shots, apart from 2, had CG elements integrated into them. Click on the image below to play the video.

Filming was shot by director Walter Stern via Academy Films, with producer Mark Whittow-Williams and director of photography Dan Landin. Editor was Matt Wood at The Whitehouse Post. Postproduction was done by Moving Picture Company by
producer Graham Bird, Inferno/Combustion artists Alex Lovejoy, Nicola Cotta, Dan Sanders, Daniel Kelly
colourist Jean-Clement Soret, 3D animators Greg Massie, Richard Nelson, Russell Appleford.

Tom Crean

This ad tells the story of able seaman Tom Crean, a native Irishman, who successfully completed a 35 mile (56km) solo walk across Antarctica to save the life of one of his fellow explorers. In this version of the story, Crean comes close to giving up, only to be spurred on by the memory of drinking a pint of Guinness with his friends back home. He returned to be a publican later in life. Click on the image below to play the video.

Agency was Irish International BBDO. Director was Tarsem via @RadicalMedia. Post production was done by Play, London.

Free In

Just one minute of injury time left in a knife-edge hurling match in Ireland and a vicious foul creates a chance. Over the bar and the game is tied, but into the goal and the game is won. The player imagines what the celebrations will be like if his shot is successful. He imagines being congratulated in a pub by many people and being handed a pint of Guinness. A complaint in Ireland was upheld when it was found that success in sport had been associated with consumption of alcohol.

Click on the image below to play the video.

After Work

Action adventure hero Michael Power goes on a journey through Africa to celebrate the inner strengths of Africans – the pulse and rhythm of their music, their passion and love of football, and their grit and determination. This character appears all over Africa and has gained a strong markethold for Guinness in that continent. Michael Power became so popular that a full feature movie, Critical Assignment, was made for him.

Back into the Archives we’re introduced to classic ads of the 1990s:

Dream Club

(2001)
This B&W epic filmed in Budapest follows the adventures of the champion of a dream club who goes to sleep with questions, and wakes up with answers… Click on the image below to play the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3W-TYgq00o

Filming was shot by director Jonathan Glazer via Academy Films, with post production, including CGI squirrels, at Framestore.

Snail Race

(2000)
The race is on. Heat and tension are palpable as the crowds gather and place their bets. Then the competitors slide out and begin their epic quest. In this lighter execution from the ‘Good Things Come to Those who Wait’ campaign, the snails demonstrate that speed isn’t everything. There’s enjoyment in anticipation. The ad was shot in Cuba. Music: Babarabateri/Beny More (with Perez Prado and his orchestra). Click on the image below to play the video.

Agency creatives Tom Carty and Walter Campbell conspired with fellow Londoners Frank Budgen, a director at Gorgeous Enterprises, and Dave Throssell of The Mill to create the commercial for the British market. Agency producer was Yvonne Chalkley.

Surfer

(1998)

One of my favourite ads, part of the ‘Good Things Come to Those who Wait’ campaign. The ad uses the metaphor of Hawaiian surfers waiting for the ultimate wave to reflect anticipation for the perfect pint of GUINNESS® beer. This ad is famous for the visual effects of horses in the surf. Passages from Moby Dick feature in the voiceover to add to the mood of the piece – ‘I don’t care who you are,’ intones the voice of actor Louis Mells, ‘here’s to your dreams.’ Music is ‘Phat Planet’ by Leftfield from their album Rhythm & Stealth.

Click on the image below to play the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zff9hVH3ptY

Filming was shot by director Jonathan Glazer via Academy Films with director of photography Ivan Bird.

Swimblack (Nadador)

(1998)

Another commercial directed by Glazer. A young man Marco won a medal in the Olympics and now each year the villagers gather to watch him race against the pint. It takes 119.5 seconds to pour the perfect pint of GUINNESS® Draught so that’s how long he’s got to swim from a buoy far out in the bay back to shore and sprint to the bar. The ad was shot on the remote Italian village of Monopoli and used local villagers for the crowd shots. It won the Creative Circle Gold (1999) for Best Editing and a gold in the British Television Advertising Awards (1999) among others. Click on the image below to play the video.

Filming was shot by Jonathan Glazer via Academy Films with director of photography Ivan Bird

Guinness’ UK ads are developed by advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers (AMV BBDO).