Guinness Takes Gold

Guinness has done it again! Last year, the beer company released 'The Basketball Commercial' featuring a group of able-bodied friends playing a game of wheelchair basketball with their handicapped companion. The ad not only created immense buzz, goosebumps, and not to mention a few tears, but it revealed a new positioning strategy for how to market alcoholic beverages. The ad allowed the 'Made of More' beer company to tie the substance and character that Guinness beer possesses with humanity and relationships that hold those qualities as well. If you haven't seen this ad you have been missing out- here it is:

Video: Guinness Basketball Commercial Enjoy!

Now with the arrival of 2014, Guinness has released many more heartwarming ads that have grabbed the attention of many--the main one being the ad featuring twin sisters, Lanny and Tracy Barnes. The video displays a side-by-side black and white picture of the Biathlete identical twins who have both sought to compete in the Olympic games. The ad features no voiced words, only flashing phrases in text that reveal the selfless and loving bond of the twins--portraying how "The Choices We Make Reveal The True Nature of Our Character".

The advertisement's already viral-potential is heightened by the ruling of the Olympic Committee to force a blackout of all ads featuring Olympic athletes between the dates of January 30th - February 26th. This ruling has caused sites such as Adweek, Businessinsider, Mashable, and many more to release the video and articles commenting on the event. The sites created much anticipation about the need to watch the Twin Ad before it disappears (which it hasn't due to unofficial recordings). With all the attention and buzz the blackout is creating, one may wonder if Guinness had this marketing strategy in mind all along... If it wasn't, Guinness has truly taken the gold with its yet another applaude-worthy ad.

Video: Guinness "Twins"