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The new ad for Guinness is the fourth in the 'Good things come to

those who wait' campaign created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, and enters

Adwatch at number eight with 63% recall.

Shot in black and white, the 60-second ad gives viewers a surreal

glimpse into the mind of 'the dreamer' - a man who finds the answers to

questions in his dreams. Sitting with a group of friends in a bar, he

orders a pint of Guinness and falls asleep on the table.

He opens his eyes and sees a squirrel next to him, who declares that he

has 'just had the weirdest dream'.

Suddenly he is outside in the street with the rest of the townspeople,

whom he clambers over to peek through a hole high in the wall, behind

which lies the meaning of life. Sitting fast asleep at the table again,

he bursts into laughter. As an expectant crowd waits outside the bar to

hear his revelation, his pint of Guinness settles.

Guinness has a reputation for producing original and impactful ads. And

while they may leave viewers confused about what they've seen, people

seem convinced that they liked it.

Caspar Thykier, board account director at AMV says: 'We have a client

that demands quality and a brand that deserves it. Consumers have

expectations of a Guinness ad. They warm to the layered communication

and feel rewarded when they finally get it. Our challenge is to keep

raising the bar of expectation without taking it too far.'

Thykier stresses that while the ad requires a degree of intelligence, it

is not distanced or alienating. He argues that the lighter moments

throughout the execution, such as laughing about the meaning of life,

take the brand off its pedestal and makes it less intimidating.

According to David Smith, Guinness brand director, the objective is to

build an affinity between the brand and Guinness drinkers, and increase

their consumption of the beer. He argues that the campaign does this by

highlighting the male potency of the brand and offering consumers a

reason to champion it.

The ad was in production for around six months and was filmed in

Budapest.

While it is on the same epic scale as the 1999 'Surfer' ad, Smith is

keen to stress that winning awards and accolades is a welcome reward,

but the primary objective is to sell more beer.

Smith confirms that the brand's growth is 13% ahead of the market. The

MAT figure for Guinness Draft on-trade share in the year to Feb/March

1998 was 4.9%, and this has risen to 5.7% according to recent

figures.

Guinness invests pounds 25m a year on advertising, 85% of which goes on

TV activity.