Guinness has gained a promotional slot on the front cover of next
month’s Loaded magazine as part of a ground-breaking tie-up, which also
includes a branded 32-page special on Ireland.
The activity is part of an ongoing attempt by Guinness, which has never
previously advertised in the IPC lads’ magazine, to reposition itself as
a brand for younger drinkers.
The cover of Loaded’s November issue will carry a Guinness product shot,
flagging up what the coverline describes as ’32 pages of guff about
Ireland’.
The bound-in supplement is entitled ’The Loaded Essential Guide to
Ireland - in association with Guinness.’ Small black-and-white drawings
of pints of Guinness adorn each page but none of the features are
labelled as advertorial.
Features about things to see and do in Ireland run alongside articles on
Irish fashion, music and entertainers. Regular Loaded items, such as
’Platinum Rogues’ and ’Greatest Living Englishman’ have been adapted for
the special issue, with Peter O’Toole landing the title of Greatest
Living Irishman.
The idea was conceived by MindShare, Guinness’s UK media agency, and
carried through with IPC by Ashley Wirasinha, a planner at the media
agency.
Rosie Faulkner, a managing partner at MindShare, commented: ’It is an
all-encompassing deal. Guinness and Loaded are similar as brands. It’s
the first time a brand has been so closely aligned within
editorial.’
Robert Tame, group publisher of IPC’s music titles and Loaded, said:
’Advertisers are trying to stand out and get closer to editorial. We get
a lot of naff requests from advertisers but this fits in with our
editorial agenda. Guinness is a credible brand and a large number of our
readers will have sampled it. The heritage of Guinness is very Irish and
it makes good editorial.’
