Good Things: The Best Guinness Ads Ever?

My goodness, my Guinness! When it comes to the beverage category, there are few brands with the rich creative heritage of the toasty Irish stout. Quirky, funny, and philosophical, the Guinness back catalogue is a marketing masterclass full of decades-old ads that are as relevant today - and you can see a selection of classics in our new collection here. 

Arthur Guinness first originated his namesake beer in 1759 in Dublin, and today it’s a favourite around the world. In December 2022, Guinness was named 'Britain's Favourite Pint' as it was the top beer brand by value share in the on-trade (bars, restaurants, hotels, music venues etc), as that year sales of Guinness in the UK and Ireland grew 22%. Beyond Europe, Guinness has famously proven extremely popular across Africa since entering West Africa in the early 19th century, with Nigeria in particular embracing the stout. 

While of course, that popularity is ultimately thanks to a tasty product, its status as a global megabrand and a superstar within the Diageo portfolio has been driven by creativity and clever branding.

Back in 1862, its famous harp brand was created, inspired by the beautiful medieval harp housed in Trinity College Dublin. Its creative advertising really kicked into gear in the 1930s. Agency S.H. Benson brought together art director Dicky Richards, copywriter R.A. Bevan and illustrator John Gilroy to create a series of humourous, cartoonish posters bearing iconic slogans like ‘My Goodness, my GUINNESS’, playing on the heartiness of the product by showing comedic feats of strength. The ads featured a range of animals, including the toucan, which has become an enduring symbol of Guinness (not least in the famous Irish pub in London’s Soho of the same name).

 

Over the years, Guinness advertising managed to create a unique, almost cult brand by focusing on its products quirky qualities - whether it was its supposed health benefits (decades ago, new mothers were advised to drink Guinness after giving birth and one of its famous slogans of the early 20th century was literally “Guinness is good for you”), or the patience required for its infamously slow pour.

Speaking of which, in 1996 AMV BBDO won the Guinness account, pitching the line ‘Good Things Come to Those Who Wait’ - a line that inspired the strategy behind an ad that has since gone down in history as one of the all time best ads ever: the Jonathan Glazer-directed Guinness ‘Surfer’.

As much as Guinness’s brand value has deep roots and rich heritage, it’s also proven to be a brand that’s able to evolve and embrace new opportunities, thus driving its continued growth - global net sales of Guinness grew 16% according to the 2023 report. Whether it’s embracing the Women’s Six Nations rugby tournament or platforming people who are blind or with visual impairments in its African campaign ‘Brothers’, it’s committed to inclusion in its marketing.

One could easily get lost in the Guinness archives, there are so many memorable ads as well as forgotten gems from the past hundred years or so. Ahead of St Patrick’s Day on Sunday our team of LBB Librarians have teamed up with the Guinness archivists to surface some favourites new and old. You can check out the collection here.  

But what do you think? Have we missed any classic Guinness ads? No doubt our seasoned readers will have plenty of favourites of their own, so if there are any ads you think deserve a place in our collection of Guinness's creative brilliance, email  Max Cooper, head of the Creative Library at Little Black Book. Drop him an email at max@lbbonline.com.