Historian Bill Yenn and winemaker Fergal Murray discussed Guinness's popularity abroad in their book Guinness: 250 Years of Pursuing the Perfect Pin. Murray worked in Guinness Brewery in Nigeria in the 1980s. He recalled, "I talked to Nigerians who thought Guinness was the national beer." They want to know why Guinness beer is sold in Ireland. You can talk to Nigerians in Lagos. They will tell you the story of their perfect pint like the Irish. They will tell you how they drank a perfect bottle of foreign spirits in a specific bar on their way home from work.
At present, the consumption of spirits in Africa is comparable to that in Britain. In 2004, Guinness surpassed Britain and Ireland in sales in Africa, accounting for about 35% of global sales. In 2007, Africa surpassed Ireland to become the second largest Guinness market in the world, second only to Britain. After that, the sales volume began to climb (about 13% per year).
The story of Guinness in Africa began in Dublin. /kloc-in 0/803, Arthur Guinness II took over his father's brewery, and he gradually expanded their exports-first Britain, then Barbados, Trinidad and the British colony Sierra Leone. Originally known as Porter of the West Indies, Guinness foreign super strong beer was brewed in Dublin in 180 1 and arrived in West Africa in 1827. The British Empire established colonies or garrisons there, and Guinness delivered beer. By 65438+1960s, the distribution also reached South Africa. Just like Coca-Cola in the globalization of soda water, Guinness has established a cooperative relationship with the local brewery, which is responsible for the bottling of beer.
Because many aborigines began to overthrow their colonial rulers, the British Empire began to collapse, and Guinness still exists. 1960, Nigeria gained independence from Britain. Two years later, Lagos, the Nigerian capital, became the location of the first Guinness brewery outside the UK (technically, a brewery opened by Guinness in new york in 1936 was their first brewery abroad, but it was closed in 1954). 1970, Nigeria's success promoted the construction of another brewery near Cameroon. Today, there are 13 breweries in Africa that produce Guinness beer. 1968 west Africa Guinness beer advertisement
Part describes a popular advertising slogan: "Guinness gives you strength." (Provided by John Atherton, a Flickr user) The Guinness premium foreign strong beer consumed in African bars is a little different. Unlike barley, it is usually brewed with corn or sorghum, which will produce bitterness compared with barley. African farmers have a long tradition of brewing grains, so this product is very suitable for African tastes. The alcohol content is 7.5% by volume, in contrast, its alcohol content is higher, which is about 4-5% in Guinness draft beer and Guinness premium spirits. This is a relic of efforts to preserve beer when it is shipped to foreign ports. But the taste is basically the same: since the 1960s, overseas brewers have added a flavor extract, a "concentrated essence" brewed in Ireland, so no matter where you order a Guinness beer, you will keep the original Dublin flavor.
In the advertising campaign in the 1960s, a beer advertisement was introduced: "Guinness gives you strength"-a variant of the contemporary European advertisement "Guinness is strength", which aroused the concept that a strong and masculine man is a fat man who has worked hard all day after drinking beer. In the past ten years, Guinness has re-examined this ancient slogan, conducted a very successful marketing campaign throughout Africa, and created a young and powerful journalist named michael ball, just like an African "James Bond". At the end of the TV or radio adventure program, power saved the world and released the same slogan: "Guinness brought your power!" " "In 2003, Guinness took another step forward and released a feature film called" The Key Task of Taking Power as a Hero ",which was about political corruption and clean water (the following is the trailer of the film). It was filmed in six different African countries and shown in cinemas all over Africa. There were two events on the British "KDSP" and "KDSP" that made the Battle of Michael Ball a great success. First of all, it plays a strong cultural ideal of African men, unlike the male advertisements used by gypsies and other brewers in Ireland and Britain. It is not a revolutionary idea to encourage tough guys to drink any beer you sell. But power lacks a sense of national belonging, so it can attract everyone, regardless of race or tribal group. This African "James Bond" not only has universal appeal, but also is a person worthy of yearning. Michael ball was eliminated in 2006. Guinness continues to adopt a similar theme, linking their tenacity with the concept of "greatness" of all men, and "surpassing" and achieving stable success on billboards throughout the European continent.
This year's beer made headlines with a new advertisement, which explored its African roots and highlighted a group of well-dressed men in the Democratic Republic of Congo, sapeurs. The advertising name is socié des ambiences rs et des persons? Légantes from all walks of life evokes the elegance and fashion of Paris.
This advertisement is praised for its positive portrayal of Africans and criticized for its failure to clearly link brands with culture, but interestingly, it is not aimed at African audiences. At least for now, it is used in European marketing. However, as Ethan Sackermann, a media scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pointed out in his blog, this advertisement is "easy to broadcast on the African continent and features a real African superhero, not an imaginary superhero."
It remains to be seen whether it will be welcomed by audiences all over Africa. But anyway, Guinness seems to be embracing its connection with Africa.