Guinness - Shipwright Version 1

Stout Geordie shipwright Martin Welsh opts for stout after work in this regional TV spot.

A northern accent on television? Outrageous! Don’t worry, this commercial was focussed on a specific broadcast region, and in Version 2 the exact same visuals were used to introduce the same actor as Ian Scott, with a voiceover in perfect Received Pronunciation. Guinness frequently used multiple versions of the same advert to hone in on their target audience.

The advert plays with the unspoken slogan of the brand’s past - “Guinness gives you strength” - without explicitly saying it for regulation reasons. Of course, follow the ad’s not so implicit logic through and surely both Martin and his identical twin Ian should be downing pints of the black stuff on the way to work?