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Gang Bang Beer Ad Denounced by Guinness
A bunch of Shakers have recently sent me the link to what appears to be an extremely misogynist Guinness advertisement (viewable here, if you are so inclined, until it's taken down, too). It's been circulated with the label "Banned Guinness Ad," among others, and has rightfully pissed off anyone with a modicum of respect for women who's seen it.
Thing is, the ad struck me as rather fishy, given that Guinness has generally been putting out more progressive and/or thoughtful advertising recently (like the evolution ad, viewable here, or the Rube Goldberg ad), so I had a look and, sure enough, the ad is a fake.
Now, here's where it gets interesting:
Diageo, which owns the Guinness label, got wind of the sham commercial and immediately left a comment in the YouTube thread denouncing and disassociating itself from it, petitioned YouTube to take it down, and released a statement to Brand Republic saying in no uncertain terms it wanted nothing to do with any viral campaign that relies on such irresponsible imagery.
Guinness is in no way associated with this video, and approached YouTube to have it removed. We are proud of our brands, and our commitment to responsible marketing, and this is not how we want our brand portrayed.So there you go. It would have been easy, and expected, once Diageo put out a statement denying the authenticity of the ad to let it keep circulating nonetheless. But that's not the avenue they took. They not only have insisted that all copies be removed from YouTube; they used the opportunity to assert a commitment to responsible marketing.
Tagged as: beer, advertising, misogyny, guinness, doing the right thing
Melissa McEwan writes and edits the blog Shakespeare's Sister.
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