NEVER ALONE

Short List
TitleNEVER ALONE
BrandDIAGEO
Product/ServiceGUINNESS
Category A03. Online: Fiction & Non-Fiction
Entrant AMVBBDO London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation AMVBBDO London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production STINK London, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
PAUL BRAZIER AMVBBDO CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER
ALEX GRIEVE AMVBBDO EXEC CREATIVE DIRECTOR
ADRIAN ROSSI AMVBBDO EXEC CREATIVE DIRECTOR
DAVE BUCHANAN AMVBBDO CREATIVE DIRECTOR
MIKE HANNETT AMVBBDO CREATIVE CIRECTOR
NICK GODDEN AMVBBDO PRODUCER
John Hillcoat Stink London DIRECTOR
Tom Lindsay TRIM EDITING EDITOR
TUBBY BROTHERS Tubby Brothers & Stink London PRODUCER
MIKE CROWE AMVBBDO CREATIVE DIRECTOR
ROB MESSETER AMVBBDO CREATIVE DIRECTOR
SAM ASHWELL 750 SOUND ENGINEER
BEN GULVIN 750 SOUND ENGINEER

The Campaign

Using inspirational stories of international rugby players who have represented their countries at previous Rugby World Cups Gareth Thomas who had the bravery to tell his teammates he was gay in a very heterosexual sport. His story epitomisesthe Guinness positioning ‘Made of More’ which is true of him, but also of his teammates.

Creative Execution

In a powerful online documentary, Gareth describes the time in his life when he game out as gay to his team. For a mainstream brand like Guinness to give Gareth a platform to talk about an issue that was important for him and our society was a huge step forward culturally.

Gareth was a pundit on television coverage of the Rugby World Cup, amplifying his stories further. The film ran online before and during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, resonating with our audience both online and offline. British Newspapers The Independent, Guardian and Evening Standard all declared Guinness had won the battle of the World Cup advertisers.

Guinness ‘won the 2015 Rugby World Cup’ with powerful online documentaries of two international rugby players, Gareth Thomas, who epitomised the brand’s positioning: ‘Made of More’.

We needed to win the hearts and minds of our audience because our nearest competitor, an official sponsor of the Rugby World Cup, was outspending us 4 to 1. So we looked for stories which our audience could emotionally connect with. Celebrating people who are ‘Made of More’ means people who drink Guinness feel that they too have more substance.