At the beginning of last year, as part of its first-half fiscal results, drinks multinational Diageo announced that Guinness was officially the UK’s most popular pint, accounting for one in every nine served in pubs. As one of illustrator John Gilroy’s classic mid-century posters might have put it: ‘Guinness is Everywhere.’

Founded in 1759, the brand has been advertising for nearly 100 years, with agency AMV BDDO at the helm over the last 26, and while the distinctive ‘black stuff’ has remained largely unaltered, the perception of Ireland’s most famous export has changed hugely over that time. From the aforementioned posters with their range of health-benefit taglines (Guinness is Good For You, 1929), through to game-changing, cinematic TV ad campaigns with thumping soundtracks (Surfer, 1999), the 2020s have seen social media move the brand beyond its traditional channels and into the consumer-led playpen of co-created content towards whole new audiences.

While few drinks brands have the heritage to devote a section of their website solely to their own advertising, as Guinness does, it’s this recent exploration of the community-focused aspect to enjoying a ‘pint of plain’ that has helped maintain the brand’s position as one of the most recognisable in the world.