The best Guinness adverts of all time – from the toucan to a singing pint

The 1960s marked a significant shift in Guinness's advertising, exemplified by Shipyard. The ad features a man enjoying a well-deserved pint after completing his shift at a shipyard. It was a dramatic departure from the playful, fantastical world of the zoo animals, positioning the stout instead as the perfect reward after a hard day's work.

This ad is especially notable as it's one of the earliest examples of data-driven advertising. Guinness had begun analysing consumer behaviour patterns, discovering that many customers viewed it as a relaxing end-of-day drink. So rather than simply continuing with a successful creative formula, the brand adapted its advertising to reflect actual consumption habits – a remarkably modern approach for the time.

The 'after work' theme established here helped Guinness forge a stronger emotional connection with its core audience by reflecting their lived experiences. This ad reframed Guinness as more than just a product – it became a ritual, a moment of earned relaxation, and a symbol of a worker's reward.

04. The Island (1977)

Tipping Point, launched in 2007, represented Guinness's most ambitious and technically complex advertisement to date. Created by AMV BBDO and directed by Nicolai Fugslig (who'd previously shot Sony Bravia's famous 'Balls' commercial), this advertisement was part of a £10 million campaign that pushed the boundaries of what was possible in television advertising.

The 60-second commercial featured an extraordinary domino effect starting with 6,000 dominoes and escalating to include books, paint cans, tyres, flaming hay bales, fridges, suitcases, and even cars. Shot in a remote Argentinian village using hundreds of local residents as extras, the advertisement was filmed with virtually no special effects. The production challenges were enormous, with Fugslig describing the combination of intricate choreography, high-altitude location, and management of hundreds of villagers as the biggest challenge of his career.

It was all worth it, though. The result was a spectacular advertisement that reinforced Guinness's reputation for creative ambition and technical excellence.

But actually, what really made Tipping Point innovative was its integrated digital marketing campaign. Titled 'La Fiesta de Toppling', the online component featured Juan Ramon, the fictional mayor of the village, who led users through an online challenge of 11 interlinked tasks. Participants had to solve clues scattered across the internet to win solid gold dominoes, creating one of the earliest examples of a truly transmedia advertising campaign.

09. Welcome Back (2021)

New Guinness ad - Welcome Back - YouTube

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The Welcome Back campaign, created by AMV BBDO in May 2021, represented a perfectly timed emotional response to the reopening of venues after COVID-19 lockdowns. With the hashtag #LooksLikeGuinness, this campaign captured the public mood with remarkable sensitivity and creativity.

The ad was inspired by the feeling of missing something so much, you start seeing it everywhere. Consequently, the commercial showed a series of black and white objects that resembled a pint of Guinness (socks on a washing line, a white cat on a black compost bin, snow on garbage cans), all set to Jack Savoretti's cover of Always on My Mind. In this way, it cleverly built anticipation before culminating in the real thing: friends reuniting over actual pints of Guinness in a pub.

After a year of social distancing and closed venues, the advertisement, which won the Thinkboxes award for TV Creativity, tapped into collective feelings of longing and relief. The campaign revived the iconic slogan 'Good things come to those who wait,' which took on new meaning in the context of the 2020s.

Beyond the creative concept, Guinness demonstrated corporate responsibility by supporting the hospitality industry with a £30 million pledge, providing PPE kits and training for bar staff. This holistic approach to marketing – combining emotional storytelling with concrete action – resulted in an overwhelmingly positive reception, with many viewers reporting that the advertisement moved them to tears.

10. Holding out for a ZERO (2023)

Sing Your Way Through St Patrick’s Day with Guinness 0.0 | Diageo - YouTube

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Guinness has survived for hundreds of years by continuing to innovate, and here's another recent example. The brand has jumped enthusiastically on the trend for 0% drinks, which dovetails nicely with its original aim of being "good for you". And in 2023, it brought this to the fore with its 'Holding Out for a ZERO' campaign.

Created by AMV BBDO to promote Guinness 0.0, this campaign launched for St. Patrick's Day, and represented Guinness's largest ever 'responsible drinking' initiative in Ireland. The centrepiece was a playful 30-second commercial featuring animated pints of Guinness 0.0 singing along to Bonnie Tyler's classic hit 'Holding Out for a Hero'. It was a daft gag, but a good one nonetheless, and approach maintained Guinness' tradition of distinctive advertising while promoting a contemporary product innovation.

What made this campaign particularly notable was its ambitious scale and strategic focus on sampling, with free pints available in over 300 locations. The messaging of 'Make it a St Patrick’s Day to (actually) remember this year' again struck the right balance between humour and a serious message of moderation.

Want more great advertising? See our best adverts of the decade series.