Royally Creative: How a Fake Viral Guinness Ad Sparked Coronation Conversations

Wherever you stand on the royals, the Coronation of King Charles III was a truly global affair. A worldwide demonstration of pomp, pageantry, and indeed protest, with hundreds of millions of people tuning in to watch the spectacle unfold. 

And where there are eyeballs there is advertising, and local and global brands vied for their slice of this huge audience. However, away from the multi-million dollar marketing executions, it was a seemingly inspired tactical advert from Diageo-owned global icon Guinness that ended up causing a stir in industry circles.

The ad, featuring a pint of Guinness with its frothy head sculpted to resemble a crown, along with the brand's iconic tagline, "Good things come to those who wait," was seemingly everywhere. From sparking opinions in trade blogs, to stirring the social media posts of many of the industry’s movers and shakers.

However, what many people didn't realise was that the ad was not created by Guinness, but rather by Anthony Smith, brand director of Sydney-based creative agency Jaywing. Anthony revealed that the inspiration for the ad came from a conversation at work about identifying moments in time when brands could leverage an occasion to promote their products.

"The coronation felt like a one-off chance to have some fun," Anthony said. "Guinness advertising has always fascinated me from a brand consistency point of view, and genuinely the crown head can trace its route back to having a pint in The Rocks in Sydney."

The ad went viral on social media, catching the attention of Chris Green, creative director for UK-based agency Grand Bridges who shared the post on LinkedIn, generating a staggering million-plus impressions by the end of the weekend.

Anthony admitted that he was surprised by the overwhelming response to the ad. "At best, I thought it might get a like or ten," he said. "It's the others who have shared it that have really made it explode."

Despite the ad being fake, Anthony received mostly positive feedback from across the industry - even creating a healthy debate about whether spoof ads are something we should encourage or not.

Further afield, Anthony’s handywork was shared on Instagram by Made in Chelsea's Jamie Laing, who has over a million followers, adding to that often cited but rarely achieved magic of virality.

As for Guinness, Anthony doesn't expect any response from the brand, and he doesn't think they would take a stand on an event like the coronation. "Maybe, deep down, that's why it did go viral as it was an unexpected brand in the mix," he said.

Anthony's Guinness ad is perhaps the ultimate testament to the power of creativity and timing. Demonstrating that even a fake ad can capture the attention of millions of people, whilst sparking a conversation about the role of advertising in the modern world.

And as for Anthony, he probably had the last word on the whole thing. “My wife and I went to some friends to watch the Coronation unfold, they both work in agencies here in Sydney and so the ad got a lot of air time, probably as much as the actual event!”, he says. “And yes, you know what’s coming … I did buy myself a six pack of Guinness for it … and yes, I put a little crown on the top of it because I’m sad!”