#BS: Guinness. Mission: Intoxication.
Do you remember Michael Power?
Now that your age is showing let’s chat 😜
If you were alive in 90s Ghana, you definitely remember this electrifying “blowman” from Guinness's marketing campaigns.
As it turns out, Michael Power wasn’t just ravingly popular in Ghana. He had the entire continent in a chokehold, and was so good for business that Guinness created a version of this character for Asia as well.
But where did Michael Power come from?
Like most heroes, he appeared in a time of trouble.
Guinness was in trouble.
Facing declining sales and flattening brand love, Guinness needed a solution that would reinvigorate connection to the brand. Enter Saatchi & Saatchi’s concept of a lovemark—brand loyalty beyond reason.
Michael Power worked because he appealed to “a simple, universal, relevant, truth” in each of us. The idea that we all aspire to be our greatest selves: powerful, heroic, assured—and that Guinness unleashed that person.
But more than that—and simpler than that—Michael Power was just captivating. The campaigns built around him were fun, high-energy, and demographic-agnostic. Everyone could get in on the excitement. Plus, it was perfect timing. This was the golden age of action films, and everyone was high on the adrenaline from Chuck Norris, Steven Segal and Duncan MacLeod.
So when Michael Power showed up with explosive heroics and his “Guinness brings out the power in you” catchphrase, it was a done deal. By 2000, Guinness led the African beer market by 50%. Sales had doubled by 2003. And the character they'd adapted for Asia, Adam King, was also a smashing success.
#BrandlySpeaking Michael Power embodies what it means to tap into the power of emotion and respond to a moment in time. Consumers are emotionally-minded because that is part of what it means to be human. Brands that remember this win.
Check out some iconic Guinness ads from this era (powered by Michael Power, of course):
🍻 https://youtu.be/cbYaQXAxl5w?si=zSosmYB-Vp62XBzr
🍻 https://youtu.be/ZMmzUqFu5_o?si=Epmc70M5Q7icVSUj
🍻 https://youtu.be/ZLXcTZDIKuw?si=QAEn-HfUD_H7pxNv
