Guinness Factory: World of Advertising
The favourite part of my trip to Ireland was visiting the Guinness Factory Tour. Half way through the tour as you work your way through the historic building in Dublin, you get to experience Guinness advertising. You fully get to immerse yourself in over eighty years of digital, print and TV campaigns around the Guinness Brand. The whole advertising concept is very traditional and most contain the iconic font and capitalised print font writing. You get the chance to walk around the room of advertisements and experience how they have developed from very traditional methods to more contemporary designs. The colours and fonts always stay true to its traditional Irish roots.
You also get the opportunity to look at the work of John Gilroy. John Gilroy was iconic in the painting world, with a mind unlike those of his peers. Because of this, the Guinness campaigns he brought to life from 1928 to the 1960s remain as distinctive now as they were back then. It was Gilroy's colourful artwork that moved Guinness advertising forward. One of the most memorable was the artwork a performing sea lion that caught his eye at the zoo. That animal, Gilroy mused, would be smart enough to balance a glass of Guinness on its nose. This concept became one of the longest living advertising campaigns in history: "My Goodness, My Guinness." This also continued the theme and trend of using Guerrilla Advertising that uses the concept of a thick and traditional Irish beer to pull in sales and customers in a smart and unique way. Its this clever advertising ideas mixed with admirable and iconic font and branding that has changed my opinion of Guinness as more than just an alcoholic beverage.