Saatchi & Saatchi Demonstrate why Guinness is MADE OF MORE

Guinness has an attitude of putting more in, to get more out; it's about a beer which has more look, more taste and more soul; it's about championing people and ideas that, at their heart, embody the essence of the idea: MADE OF MORE.

 

Guinness asked Saatchi & Saatchi, their global advertising agency, to bring the concept to life and demonstrate how and why Guinness exemplifies the idea of MADE OF MORE. 

 

The brand and the agency have chosen to tell this story in a way that exemplifies the idea of MADE OF MORE - through an art installation and film depicting key moments in the story of Guinness, starting with Arthur Guinness signing a 9000 year lease on the brewery in 1759. 

 

Jonathan Santana and Xander Smith, the creative team on the project said, “From the very beginning we wanted to create a piece of work with substance. Something tactile and crafted with enough painstaking detail to live up to the mantra “MADE OF MORE.” Guinness is a brand with more than 250 years of history, so it was also important for us to do something that would last longer than just 60 seconds.”

 

blinkart, an established production studio, was commissioned by Saatchi & Saatchi and Guinness to create the physical piece that celebrates the history of the brand, as well as making the accompanying film which will launch the new brand positioning: MADE OF MORE. 

 

In response, blinkart built a 12 foot, two ton pint-shaped sculpture which depicts the story of Guinness in the round, the production of which was overseen by David Wilson. Each part of the story was chosen to substantiate the new brand positioning: MADE OF MORE, such as references to the early stages of Arthur’s journey – choosing to roast his barley and the St. Patrick’s Cathedral which he financially sustained for a number of years – to references of iconic Guinness imagery throughout the years – the original harp and the toucan. This will ‘live on’ in the Guinness Storehouse to form part of an interactive visitor experience for years to come.

 

David Wilson selected illustrators Robert Hunter, Bradley Jay, Micah Lidberg, and design studio Village Green to each draw a part of the story, which was then hand-carved into the solid sculpture, marrying the artists’ individual styles and creating a rich texture and depth to the monument. 

 

The carving process was headed up by Corin Johnson, who directed a nine-strong team to translate these drawn designs into a three-dimensional carved form in the solid Ash-wood structure. 

 

Mixed media artist, Jethro Haynes, created a mountain range at the top of the sculpture, embellished with a series of ten clay explorers, created as a collaboration between illustrator Rob Hunter and sculptor Alex Simpson, representing modern day Arthur’s who share the same entrepreneurial spirit captured in: MADE OF MORE.

 

Fine artist and sculptor, Benedict Hughes, crafted three magnificent bronze horses, which extend from hand-carved wooden waves into the illuminated crown of the piece. Demonstrating how deeply imbued this sculpture is in the history of Guinness, Benedict took inspiration from an old image of the famous Irish race horse named Arkle, whose abilities were jokingly the result of a daily diet that included two pints of Guinness.

 

The illuminated head of the pint is a moving, breathing light sculpture by Jason Bruges Studio, visually bringing the idea of the famous Guinness surge and swirling white head to life. To reflect the global nature of the new brand strategy, this was constructed using fabric sourced from key Guinness markets around the world like Africa and Asia.

 

Overall, those involved represented various nationalities, chosen amongst other things to reflect the global nature of Guinness and the new brand strategy. The team’s skills, craft and creative interpretation of the brand story have ultimately led to this one-of-a-kind Story of More, capturing the essence of the concept: MADE OF MORE.

 

The GUINNESS and MADE OF MORE words, the HARP device and associated logos are trademarks © Guinness & Co. 2012.

 

Credits

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi

Agency Team: Creative Team – Jonathan Santana and Xander Smith. Executive Creative Director – John Pallant. Account Team – Andrew Bell and Miles Burton. Producer – Marie Hughes.

Featuring: Village Green, Jethro Haynes, Benedict Hughes, Robert Hunter, Bradley Jay, Corin Johnson, Mark Judges, Micah Lidberg, Alex Simpson, Jason Bruges Studio.

Carvers: Tom Ball, Chris Burbidge, Orlando Campbell, Saena Koo, Julius Lightfood, Artsem Malakhouski, Clementine Nuttall, Maureen Otwell, Joseph Stokes.

Director/Curator: David Wilson

Produced by James Stevenson Bretton and Jennifer Byrne at blinkart