The England team might not have brought football home in the summer but that is all likely to be forgotten this weekend, when the Premier League kicks off the 2024/25 season, with new “official beer” Guinness launching a major advertising and marketing campaign to boot.
Now, while the Diageo-owned brand might be better known as a sponsor of rugby – having supported the sport for over 60 years – it has now taken over from Budweiser and is trying to convince a global audience that the round ball is just as crucial to its brand values as the wonky one.
Even so, in this new world where getting pissed up at football matches is now frowned upon, the company will be bigging up Guinness 0.0, which has just doubled its sales in Europe and will be used to promote the brand’s status as the “official responsible drinking partner to the Premier League”.
Devised by AMV BBDO, the “Lovely Game for a Guinness” campaign will feature four TV ads, global out-of-home advertising, promotional material in pubs and retail outlets, and sponsorship of the Premier League’s Goal of the Month award.
To kick off the activity, the brand has even roped in former Newcastle United legend turned TV pundit Alan Shearer to unveil a fleet of 20 customised Guinness tankers, with one for each Premier League club, that left the St James’ Gate Brewery in Dublin to deliver Guinness and Guinness 0.0 to pubs ahead of the opening weekend.
Guinness will also look to activate its partnership with the Premier League in over 70 countries, by, in its own words, “creating experiences that put passionate fans, culture, and the occasion of enjoying a Guinness at the heart of the action”.
From midweek routines to matchday rituals, these four films for TV and social media are designed to symbolise how shared passion and love for football reaches all corners of the world, even remote islands.
Enter the first film set on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, where 10% of the population play for the only football team on the island, whose pitch looks more like something out of the Battle of the Somme than the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium.
A second film, Rooftop is based in Seoul and will launch globally in the coming weeks. It is designed to show how the love for the game, shared by a group of shopping centre colleagues never stops, even while the rest of the city sleeps.
A third film, Brothers, aims to capture the infectious shared passion of two brothers – Miracle and Abidemi – who are bringing their community together again to watch matches socially in a Nigerian viewing centre. Brothers originally launched in 2022 and was produced by South Africa’s Giant Films.
Finally, the fourth film, Replay, will launch later this month across Asia. It reveals the excruciating and relatable moments of weekly drama for Premier League fans in Korea, trying to dodge spoiler alerts on TV, radio, social media and even from innocent bystanders in the street.
Guinness global brand director Stephen O’Kelly said: “The Premier League isn’t just football, it’s a global occasion. Millions of fans come together every week in stadiums, pubs and homes, united by their love of the game.
“For Guinness, it’s an amazing opportunity to continue the success of the Guinness brand globally and become part of new rituals and existing traditions worldwide, by creating imaginative stories and experiences that tap into the passions and connections between the beautiful game, and the beautiful beer.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, to be fair, the campaign does a good job of trying to get to the grass roots of the game, although it is too early to tell whether it will carry much truck with your average lager swilling footie fan in the UK. After all, Guinness can sit a bit heavy in the belly when you are screaming at the ref, the linesman, the opposition, the away fans and even at your own team.
The activity will probably work better globally, where fans watch it on the telly, but in the stands and crowded pubs of England, it could have its work cut out to make an impact. Then again, as lager swilling footie fans, we’re normally too pissed to care…
Decision Marketing Adometer: An “early doors” 7 out of 10
