Taking Guinness to Fashionable New Heights
John Doe
Client: Guinness x Labrum
So, why bring Guinness into the fashion world? Because we had a problem. In the UK, Guinness was only associated with British and Irish pub culture and was perceived as an old man’s beer brand. We knew this wasn’t the reality, so researched far and wide to prove it. We found that Nigerians drink more Guinness than the Irish, and for the West African diaspora in the UK—Guinness reminds them of home. It was this untold connection between Guinness and West Africa that helped us bust perceptions and show young drinkers another side of the brand. To tell our story, we did the unexpected and partnered with emerging label Labrum. Together, we created the first generation of co-created fashion prints that paid homage to everything from Labrum founder, Foday Dumbaya's fond memories of his grandfather sipping Guinness on the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone, to those that have migrated to the UK from West Africa and brought their social traditions with them. With a sold out collection covered by Vogue, Guinness was labelled a ‘fashion icon’ and the brand that ‘rose from pub bore to flavour of the year’. The community commended our campaign as a powerful attempt to challenge outdated norms around pub culture and sold 5.6M extra pints in the summer compared to the year before. Brand ‘relevance’ increased by 11% and ‘authenticity’ by 7%. Sláinte!