Behind Guinness’s Homage to Home

Dublin 8 – known also as The Liberties – is the postal district in the city of Dublin that spans the river Liffey and spreads to the edges of Phoenix Park. The centuries-old neighbourhood has been deemed one of the ‘coolest’ neighbourhoods to live in the world,  and is known for its relic pubs, bustling markets, and tight knit community. 

It’s also the proud home to the Guinness Storehouse. 

There are few brands that do advertising better than Guinness, and a lot of that advertising is product-led. Every so often, however, Guinness takes a different approach, looking through the hearts of people rather than what goes down their gullets. Its latest spot, lovingly entitled ‘No Place Like Home’, works to encapsulate the spirit of Dublin 8 through the lens of a camera. 

‘No Place like Home’ speaks to the essence of the area, compiling off-the-cuff, unscripted interviews with real locals, who tell the story of community. They speak to its melting-pot nature that represents Irishness at its best – the kind that says, ‘céad míle fáilte’ (a hundred thousand welcomes) and spreads arms open to all. 

In this interview, we chat with Banjoman director, Dermot Malone, to find out how he worked to portray Dublin 8 in the most honest, raw, and authentic way possible. Here’s how he made everyday moments animate this historic district, helping Guinness send a love letter to the place it calls ‘home’.  

LBB> When did you first receive the brief and how long did the project take, from start to finish?

Dermot> I first received the brief over a lovely lunch with Ciarán Walsh, who’s the head producer of Forsman & Bodenfors Dublin. We had some ramen and he told me about this project, all about Dublin 8. About the area, the people, and the culture surrounding the Guinness Brewery and the Guinness Storehouse. It’s an area that I absolutely adore and have personal connection to. From there on, we were back and forth on how to make this film come to life.

LBB> This spot really warms the cockles. Can you tell us about the core message you try to convey through its narrative?

Dermot> Very much a message of community, community support, and the uniqueness of place. Dublin 8 is a unique and special place, full of unique and special characters, restaurants, cafes, and cultural and historical places. It has a really intangible energy and synergy about it. 

It’s just about community, being proud of where you’re from, why you take pride in it, and the overall celebration of individuality and character.

LBB> Tell us how you approached capturing the essence of Dublin 8 in such a short spot? What were the specific themes or emotions you wanted to communicate?

Dermot> I approached it by wanting to capture everything authentically, in a cinematic documentary fashion, where we went around and met real people going about their day in real time. My goal was to capture portraits of them and moments they were experiencing.

And there was nothing set up, there’s no artifice. The hustle and bustle, the colour, the vibrancy, the diversity, and the fun energetic atmosphere that you get from the film is what you will get from Dublin 8 everyday. And that’s what I wanted to capture, and I hope that we captured that. Nostalgia and the heart warming feeling. I really just wanted people to visit Dublin 8 once they watched the film.

LBB> The spot features locals talking about their experiences - how did you decide on this storytelling approach and what impact were you willing to achieve?

Dermot> The brief from the agency and the client was to hone in on specific characters from the area. It was a very open brief, in collaboration with the guys. They wanted to meet people from different industries. We’ve got Owen from Someneck Guitar who was amazing. Noel’s news agents, and then RUMI’s café. So you’ve got hospitality, you’ve got retail, you’ve got music and culture, and I was trying to capture three different voices, but all within the one area. I was trying to achieve honesty and get their honest take. No artifice. Just authenticity.

LBB> Tell us about the collaboration with locals, was it easy to get locals on board?

Dermot> Yes. The collaboration was the most special part of this film. The locals of Dublin 8 are a special breed. They are warm, welcoming, funny, and full of character. So yeah, everyone was willing to get on board. It’s one of those things, even if they don’t want to be on camera, they are still very proud to tell the story of Dublin 8.

LBB> Can you share any memorable interactions or stories that stood out to you?

Dermot> My stories are more of shooting the piece, not so much stories from the actual characters themselves, as they were telling anecdotes from the past 50-60 years. Some of them were appropriate and some of them were not appropriate. There was one story that Owen told, that really captures the sense of community. He runs a guitar shop, but there’s a local lady who drops him in cake everyday with his tea. She calls him the guitar man. She’s kind of the perfect neighbour, and Dublin 8 is full of these characters. It is an unusual but special example of the type of people in Dublin 8.

LBB> Can you highlight specific moments where creative or technical decisions had a substantial impact on the final product?

Dermot> I think myself and Luke Jacobs, the DOP, decided to shoot on a mixture of 16 millimetre and 35 millimetre film stock, and I think what that does is really lands an authenticity and character to the image. As well as the characters that we are capturing. That is something that I think can be used for the wrong reasons sometimes. Using style over substance. But for me it really added character to the film, and looking back I don’t think I would have done it any other way.

LBB> What were some of the logistical or creative challenges you faced during the production, and how did you navigate them?

Dermot> The main thing was we shot this around Christmas time and obviously it is not a Christmas film, it was meant to be more evergreen – so the main issue was getting rid of Christmas trees and lights. The people of Dublin 8 are great but they tend to embrace Christmas with all its bells and whistles.

LBB> What about the making of this spot might our readers be surprised to learn?

Dermot> I guess that all of these people were not planted. They weren’t briefed. They are all just real people, in an everyday place that is full of character, atmosphere, fun, and love. I guess that’s the hardest thing to conceive is that there is no conceit.