Author Topic: Guinness Ad: Sapeurs  (Read 1518 times)

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Offline Colwyn

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Guinness Ad: Sapeurs
« on: January 26, 2014, 18:42:57 PM »
I watched some iTV this afternoon and saw the new Guinness advert. G ads have always been state-of-the-art media experiences. Indeed ever since we stopped getting draught Dublin Guinness in Bristol (for which Harold Wilson's Labout Government was to blame) and had to put up with that frozen cold keg stuff instead, the ads have been better than the ale. So anu new ad has to livs up to high expectations.


So, what about Sapeurs? [If you haven't seen it see link which is nearly the same. The real ad is better but the link I found for this is dodgy]. Sapeurs is the name of members of Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes (in English - Society of Ambiance-setters and Elegant Pople) of Brazzaville, in the Congo. The first time I saw it I went "Wow" and thought it was great. Really stylish and in the Guinness tradition (unlike myself who no-one would mistake for stylish, except that I also like hats - and not bloody baseball caps).

Inevitably there are those who disagree. "What has Congo got to do with Guinness?" they demand (just as though white horses plunging through breakers were standard G customers). "The Congo is a country of torture, rape, death and pillage and this ad is whitewashing/endorsing/ignoring all that". "The guy says 'In life you can't always choose what you DO but you can choose who you ARE' and that simply trivializes realities in Africa.

Any thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-3sVWOxuXc



Offline johntaylor49

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Re: Guinness Ad: Sapeurs
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2014, 11:05:48 AM »
WOW!  I need to think about all this, so many conflicting factors!

Does it trivialize? Is it good that a small group of people strive to show that elegance can survive in the midst of Chaos? Is it all just an invention of Diageo? (Used to called Guinness Company?) I don't know -- but I am going
to look into it more -- and think about what I really fee about it? (I too miss real Guinness!)

By the way Colwyn, I also like hats, my Fedora being my favourite, but T do wear the good old Failsworth
Cap as well!

Owaretheelad
Splinter faction of the Worsley popular Front




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