Guinness Ireland and the Irish Film Institute (IFI) is calling on all creatives, film makers and content creators to “reinterpret and reimagine” a modern-day campaign for Guinness 0.0 using some of its most iconic advertising from the 1950s to the 1990s which is currently archived by the Guinness Archive and managed by the IFI.
The launch of the award – the Guinness Archives Award- coincides with the largest digitisation project of audio-visual collections the brand has ever undertaken. The entirety of the brand’s advertising legacy, of 548 ads spanning 40 years from 1955 to 1995, has been catalogued, digitally preserved and made available to the public for the first time, making it the largest publicly available collection of brand advertising in Ireland and the UK.
According to the organisers, “one award will be granted to individual creatives or creative groups for projects submitted during the application window in 2024 that align best with the reinterpretation of ‘An expression of Irishness’, with Guinness 0.0 the hero product, through any content medium including video, social media, out of home, display and or other innovative formats.”
The winner will be chosen by a panel of judges from Guinness and The Irish Film Institute, critiqued through the lens of the original interpretation of the brief, creative delivery, Diageo marketing code guidelines, Guinness 0.0 and responsible drinking guidance. These all-form part of Diageo’s Society 2030 ambition.
Inspired by the success of the Irish Adverts Project in 2016, which is also run by the IFI, the project is supported by a grant from Coimisiún na Meán’s Archiving Funding Scheme. Created to advertise Guinness to Irish and UK television audiences, the collection of adverts features a wealth of talent both behind and in front of the camera, with directors including Alan Parker, Tony and Ridley Scott; music from artists Elkie Brooks, Clannad and the Chieftains. In addition, some of the advertising features a host of well-known faces such as Pete Postlethwaite, Bill Nighy, Robert Lindsay and Jon Pertwee. To visit the online archive click HERE
According to Kasandra O’Connell, head of the IFI Irish Film Archive: “The 40 years of content that has been digitised as part of the Guinness Adverts Project demonstrates how important our moving image heritage is and why we need to ensure it is properly preserved. We were delighted that Guinness recognised the value of this material and chose to work with the IFI Archive on this extensive and complex project. It is gratifying to now make a curated selection of these adverts available on the IFI Archive Player for the public to enjoy and learn from.”
Ross Keane, IFI director/CEO adds: “In partnership with Guinness, we are excited to present this culturally and historically important collection of ads, which are free-to-view worldwide on the IFI Archive Player, and to put the call out to the creative talent of Ireland and see their modern interpretation of ‘An expression of Irishness’ as part of the Guinness Archives Award 2024.”
“We are thrilled to partner with the IFI & Coimisiún na Meán to bring our archived and digitised collection of 40 years of Guinness television advertising to life for everyone to enjoy,” says Eibhlin Colgan, Guinness archive manager.
“The cultural significance of the ads, cannot be underestimated, Guinness was the most prolific advertiser on Irish television in this 40 year period (1955-1995) the advertisement collection features a wealth of talent both behind and in front of the camera, with directors including Alan Parker, Tony and Ridley Scott, music from artists Elkie Brooks, Clannad and the Chieftains, and a host of well-known faces such as Pete Postlewaite, Bill Nighy, Robert Lindsay and Jon Pertwee. In addition to their ability to evoke nostalgia this collection of commercials captures moments in cultural and social history spanning a 40-year period that offers a fascinating insight into changing representations of Irishness both at home and overseas, evolving gender roles and the ever-changing role of the pub in Irish society. The role Guinness played and continues to play in culture is pivotal, and it’s incredibly exciting to see what Irish creatives will develop in response to the inaugural Guinness Archives Award legacy brief,” she adds.
To celebrate the significance of the publication of this historic and cultural collection, the entire catalogue of over 548 ads will be available via the Guinness Storehouse website. In addition, the Guinness Storehouse will be launching a short documentary delving into the digitised ads which will be unveiled as part of the cinema room experience on the third floor commencing on February 15th 2024.
The application window for the Guinness Archives Award opens on February 19th at 9am 2024 and closes on April 5th 2024 at 5pm. For more information click HERE
