One of the head honchos at Shiny Media (that’s the company who bring you this lovely blog) forwarded a press release for a new Guinness advert which is to hit our screens soon. She noted “There aren’t many other companies who can make their adverts newsworthy” which got us both thinking (admittedly a rarity for me). How many companies have adverts that people actually care about? There have been a few over the years, some taking a life of their own, whilst others are equally lampooned, but by no means as loved as those that have their own press release.

Of late, Guinness have shown us the way to making a product (‘it’s not a product… it’s a drink’) iconic by advertising. Many moons ago, the Guinness adverts featuring the Tucans and Seals captured people’s hearts, and now, with nostalgia, are finding themselves on the walls of pubs and student flats. The TV spot that featured Leftfield’s Phat Planet, or, the one with the bloke saying “tick followed tock” and the white horses in the surf, was probably the first ad’ to make people think ‘Hang on… there’s a real art to this lark’. So who followed suit?

More recently, vying for the crown of the serious advertisement, we’ve seen the Sony Bravia spots. Hell, I’ve even run them as news articles on these very pages. The bouncing balls kick started the trend for Sony, which saw them exploring exploding paint bombs and, more recently, plasticine rabbits. The Bravia and Guinness commercials showed us all just how a great advert can apply a bit of arty pretentiousness and still win us all over. Guinness adverts generally look better than most of the shows we watch.

Prior to these, iconic ads were either trashy or funny. The miserable failure of the new BT Homehub family adverts (awkward and clunky) aim to reach the heady highs of popularity of the old Gold Blend commercials which saw Sharon Maughan stirring coffee, loins and sexual tension alongside Anthony Head from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The advert was such a hit that it was turned into a novel and had its own compilation album! Levis took the route of sexual tension by getting a bloke to strip off to his undercrackers in a laundrette, which of course, was shamelessly pinched by Diet Coke.

Those that went for the funny bone are numerous. The Tango adverts were a huge success with ver yoof of the time, seeing them legging it around the country, boxing people’s ears and shouting “YOU’VE BEEN TANGOED!” The daddy of all funny commercials was those run by Hamlet. The brilliant campaign featured many iconic images… Gregor Fisher’s bald man in the photobooth; the man who tossed a cigar into his own mouth at Wimbledon; the yuppie in the Ferrari.

Sometimes, it’s a theme tune that drags us in. Recent re-runs of the Aquafresh advert has seen me picking up my guitar and learning how to play it. It’s sad, but it’s true. The appalling Sheila’s Wheels spots have somehow hit a nerve with the public which led to a single release. Thankfully, I haven’t heard it. The Sheila’s Wheels ad is a product of the ‘bad on purpose’ commercial. Think Cilit Bang. Think Ronseal. Think the myriad of horrendous local ads telling you about bed sales and used car dealerships. The marketing people know they’ll be annoying… and annoying sticks in your mind just as much as fondness.

Yep, the humble commercial break has many levels… but does it make us buy stuff? In my experience, they don’t work at all. However, I do like drinking Guinness (but that’s only because it’s so bloody difficult to find an alternative porter in a pub these days). Oh, and if you’re thinking “What about the new Guinness ad’ you git!” fear not. The new ‘good things come to those who wait’ TV spot will be shown on the official Guinness website shortly before it goes on air… although you need to crack a series of clues. Click here to allow Juan Ramon lead the hunt to complete eleven interlinked tasks… you don’t get that with commercials for Rustlers burger-in-a-bag do you?