''Swimblack'' (also written as ''Swim Black'') is a 1998 advertisement for

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

-brand draught

stout Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout. The first known use of the word ''stout'' for beer, in a document dated 1677 found in the Egerton Manuscript ...

which was broadcast in the United Kingdom. It is the first in the Good things come to those who wait advertising campaign created by

Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO (AMV BBDO) is an advertising agency that works with over 85 brands, including BT, Diageo, Walkers, and Mars. AMV campaigns may incorporate digital, social, experiential, print or broadcast media. AMV is part of the ...

who had won the Guinness account from Ogilvy & Mather in January 1998. The centrepiece of the ''Swimblack'' campaign is a 60-second television and cinema commercial written by Tom Carty, art directed by Walter Campbell and directed by Jonathan Glazer, which depicted an aging local sports hero's annual swimming race from an offshore

buoy A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...

to his brother's seafront pub against the "clock" of pint of Guinness being "correctly" poured at the bar. The brother declares that the hero will "never lose" as the punchline of the commercial shows the brother starting the clock a little later each year. The ad was shot in the remote Italian village of Monopoli and used local villagers for the crowd scenes. The aims of the campaign were to promote Guinness in general, to turn around the negative consumer opinion of the length of time required to correctly pour a pint of Guinness from the tap, usually quoted as 119.5 seconds, and to encourage bartenders to take the time to do so. Print and billboard spots for ''Swimblack'' each tied back to the central theme of the campaign, which was successful at boosting sales, particularly among the older male demographic. The television/cinema commercial proved fairly popular with critics within the advertising and television industries, netting a number of awards - including a Creative Circle Gold for Best Editing and a gold in the British Television Advertising Awards in the Alcoholic Beverages category. Following the success of ''Swimblack'', permission was granted by Diageo, owners of the Guinness brand, to AMV BBDO to pursue the campaign further, and led to the creation of the 1999 piece, ''Surfer (Guinness), Surfer''.

Additional credits

*Creative Director: Peter Souter *Copywriter: Tom Carty *Art Director: Walter Campbell *Director of Photography: Ivan Bird *Editor: Rick Lawley *Music Production Company: Air-Edel Associates, London *Music Arranger: *Online: Smoke & Mirrors, London

External links

*http://www.guinness.com/ie_en/ads/classic/1990sTVs/swimblack/ *http://www.brandrepublic.com/Campaign/News/23879/

References

{{Good Things Guinness advertising Irish television commercials 1990s television commercials