Guinness decides to hide, not broadcast, next ad campaign

Not only do you have to wait for a pint of Guinness to be poured, you now have to wait to see their ads, too.

by Helen Leggatt

BBDO, Guinness’ agency, has come up with an unusual way to view their client’s latest ads. Instead of broadcasting them to all and sundry the audience will have to actively seek out the ads.

Confused? In a nutshell it’s like an online treasure hunt – except the treasure is an ad and the finder essentially gets to “launch” the campaign. There’s no confirmation anywhere of any further prizes, but surely the reward can’t be to watch the ad? Can it?

This ad could cause a serious amount of buzz for Guinness, perhaps the uncertainty surrounding the eventual prize is a good motivator? As with most Guinness campaigns there’s the underlying tone that “good things come to those that wait” and judging by the announcement this week the hunt won’t be quick, or easy.

“To be the first to see the new ad you must solve a series of clues, codes and puzzles and piece together the new film…but don’t expect it to be easy,” it read. "As you know, it just wouldn’t be Guinness if the reward didn’t involve a little waiting."

Initial clues are already out there in the form of a .pdf letter and a short video.