Guinness: Arthur's Day 2012

Stuart Kinch, Guinness Marketing Manager, Diageo Western Europe

This week Guinness hosted a special media launch and announced the details of Arthur's Day 2012. Scheduled to take place on 27th September, Arthur's Day 2012 will see a massive expansion of the day's activities coming to every corner of Ireland with local pubs being placed at the heart of the celebration.

So what does this mean? To start with, there will be no tickets to buy this year. Instead, Arthur's Day will take place in 500 pubs across the 32 counties with live music provided in all of them. So it'll simply be a case of grabbing some mates and getting down to one of them for an evening of free Arthur’s Day music and craic.

Of course that's not the end of it. Aside from hundreds of home grown Irish artists, Arthur’s Day will also be a night full of surprises. This year you will have the chance to vote to bring internationally renowned artists such as Example, Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding, Mika, Professor Green, Fatboy Slim, Texas and Amy Macdonald to one of the 500 Arthur’s Day pubs near you.

Voting opened on the 15th August and will run until the 16th September To make things as exciting as possible the winning pubs will remain a secret to the public until the night itself, so you never know who might walk through the door.

Arthur’s Day artist Tinie Tempah, who has recently had four top 5 singles in the Irish charts, said, “I played Arthur's Day back in 2010 so I know all about the magic of it. I'm honoured to be invited back to Ireland for 2012 and couldn't be more excited about playing a pub gig for a small, surprised crowd! We'll be kick starting the global celebrations in Ireland on September 27th - hope to see you all there!”.

Stuart Kinch, Guinness Marketing Manager, Diageo Western Europe said, “Arthur’s Day has always been about people coming together for unique and remarkable music experiences in pubs and venues around the country. This year, we wanted to do more and give everyone the chance to experience the magic of Arthur’s Day by making all events free and giving the public a chance to vote and help bring a headline artist to their local! Apart from the change from 38 ticketed music events last year to over 500 free Arthur’s Day music events this year in pubs in all 32 counties, we anticipate many more pubs will also be organising their own celebrations around the country so it promises to be the biggest Arthur’s Day yet with the Arthur Guinness Fund also directly benefiting from the celebration”.

Through the Arthur Guinness Fund, Arthur’s Day supports social entrepreneurs in Ireland and around the world who are in the business of changing communities for the better. This year, for every ‘check-in’ by people to the Arthur’s Day Facebook event, a €5 donation will be made to the Arthur Guinness Fund by Guinness. Check out details on how to RSVP and ‘check-in' on the Guinness Ireland Facebook page.

Stay tuned though, as this isn't the end of the Arthur's Day story. There will be further exciting announcements made in the coming weeks. So whether you're in Dingle or Derry, this will be one Thursday night not to be missed! To Arthur!!

Arthur's Day 2010

Back in June I posted about the return of Arthur's Day this September. With ticket sales well under way (and sold out in many cases! - but check www.ticketmaster.ie for full details) it looks like the 23^rd September is going to be just as huge as promised. The biggest news so far, for most people, was probably the announcement that The Killers’ Brandon Flowers will be topping the list of the 20 or so artists that have been added to the star studded line-up. The list (below) is a whopper one too, and includes the likes of Newton Faulkner, Plan B, KT Tunstall, José González, The Magic Numbers and Kelis, as well as homegrown talents like Snow Patrol and Paolo Nutini.

The main difference with this year's celebrations is a focus on making the pub the heart of the celebrations. This is being done by using 28 different pub venues to host an artist to kick off the celebrations after the toast to Arthur Guinness at 17.59. Basically this means that Pub ticket holders will get to see a great artist in the comfort of their favourite pub, however, there will also be a surprise performance from one of the studio artists too. For Studio ticket holders there will be up to five international and Irish artists performing at each studio venue.

Speaking at the Arthur’s Day announcement, Orla Flanagan, Guinness Brand Manager said “We are delighted to add more fantastic artists to our Arthur’s Day line up. Studio tickets to last year’s Arthur’s Day celebrations last year sold out in one hour so we are anticipating huge interest again tomorrow morning. With the great acts who are involved in Arthur’s Day this year, the 23^rd of September looks set to be another remarkable celebration of Arthur Guinness and his lasting legacy. I’m really looking forward to raising a glass to the man himself on the day”.

Studio tickets and the outdoor Galway music event will cost €10 and the 28 pub venues will cost €5 with proceeds from all Arthur’s Day ticket sales benefiting the Arthur Guinness Fund.

Arthur's Day Artists

Studio Artists Snow Patrol Paolo Nutini José González The View We Have Band The Hoosiers Slow Club The Maccabees The Magic Numbers Sharon Shannon Brandon Flowers Eliza Doolittle Example Fortune Kelis KT Tunstall Newton Faulkner O Emperor Plan B Tinie Tempah Carbon/Silicon

Pub Artists The High Kings The Chapter The Dirty 9s Heathers The Milk Broken Records Mick Flannery The Rags John Spillane Dirty Epics A Band Called Wanda Butterfly Explosion Director Duke Special James Vincent McMorrow Johnny Flynn Molotov Jukebox Pilotlight RoySeven Simon Fagan Sparrow and the Workshop The Boy Who Trapped the Sun The Shoos Joey Negro & The Sunburst Band

Arthur’s Day Venues*

Dublin Studio Venues St James’s Gate Brewery The Academy Vicar Street The Village Olympia Theatre Pub Venues The Bank Odeon Bruxelles Oliver St. John Gogarty’s Dakota The Baggot Inn Hogans The Stag’s Head O’Donoghue’s The Temple Bar The George Doheny & Nesbitt Sinnotts Whelans Fitzsimons The Brazen Head Pygmalion The Palace Bar Flannery’s

Galway Outdoor Music Event Folan Quay at Galway Harbour Pub Venues Róisin Dubh Kelly’s Tíg Cóilí Taaffes

Cork Studio Venue Savoy Pub Venues The Old Oak Crane Lane Theatre Reardons The Pavilion Soho

*Subject to licence


Previous Arthur's Day and Guinness 250 Celebration posts:

• Guinness 250: New Year's Eve
• Guinness 250 & An Age Of Reciprocity
• Guinness 250: A Final Cheers For Arthur
• Applications Open For The Arthur Guinness Fund
• To Arthur!
• The Arthur's Day Petition
• Countdown to Arthur's Day
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations: Update 2
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations: Update
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations

Guinness: Arthur's Day

----- Press Release -----

Over 600 International and home grown artists perform across Ireland for Arthur's Day

Mumford & Sons, Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding, Example and more make Guinness 2012 Arthur's Day celebration the biggest yet

September 28th - Yesterday saw a record number of GUINNESS® lovers worldwide come together to celebrate Arthur’s Day 2012. Fans from 55 countries across the globe, spanning six time zones, raised a toast to the founder of the legendary stout, Arthur Guinness.

The global events kicked off on 27th September across Europe. Spanish festivities were led by the former lead singer of popular rock band Pereza as 1,200 GUINNESS fans raised a toast to Arthur. While in Germany and Italy, Revolverheld and Max Gazze continued the Arthur’s Day celebrations.

An hour later, GUINNESS lovers at Senate House in London were treated to an exclusive gig from music icon Tom Jones performing a one-off collaboration with R&B superstar Wretch 32. To top off the evening, a silent disco and an impressive light projection of the St James’ Gate brewery in Dublin allowed fans to feel like they were almost at the home of GUINNESS. GUINNESS lovers at Senate House in London were treated to an exclusive gig from music icon Tom Jones performing a one-off collaboration with R&B superstar Wretch 32. To top off the evening, a silent disco and an impressive light projection of the St James’ Gate brewery in Dublin allowed fans to feel like they were almost at the home of GUINNESS.

Simultaneously, surprise gigs from the likes of Mumford & Sons, Professor Green, Example, Fun Lovin’ Criminals and Fatboy Slim took place in pubs across Ireland giving fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to get up close to these renowned music stars for a truly remarkable evening.

Ellie Goulding shot a music video using audience participation at her Arthur’s Day TV Special in Cork’s Crane Lane while Mika did a unique performance of some of his songs with Dublin Gospel Choir.

Irish Highlights
·  Texas surprised locals with an early performance in Smyth’s Bar, Denmark Street, Limerick before heading for a late gig in a local pub in Galway city
·  The Coronas played a surprise gig in Geary’s Bar, Charleville, Co Cork
·  Mumford & Son’s performed to a packed Toner’s pub, Baggot Street, Dublin
·  Primal Scream turned up at The Silver Granite, Palmerstown, Dublin
·  Mika showed up at The Graduate, Dun Laoighaire, Dublin
·  Tinie Tempah played to a surprised audience in Whites Tavern, Belfast city
·  Fun Lovin’ Criminals turned up at Kazbar in Waterford City

Celebrations will continue in countries including Singapore, Malaysia and Australia over the next 24 hours with performances from Asian superstars such as Shin, Della Ding Dang and Paul Wong.

Example who performed at the celebrations in Dublin commented; “Well, what better way to come back to Arthur’s Day than with my mates P Money, AlunaGeorge and the boys from Rudimental in tow. I was excited to see where we would all be playing and loved meeting all you Guinness fans! Thanks for having me back Ireland.”

Fatboy Slim said, “27th September only means one thing…Arthur’s Day! I knew it was going to be a big day for Ireland and the fantastic Irish crowds didn’t disappoint. Thank you for having me!”.

Fun Lovin’ Criminals, commented “Wow THANK YOU Ireland. We put on a spectacular little show for those of you who were lucky enough to be in the right pub. To Arthur!”

Nearly €8 million has been donated to the Arthur Guinness Fund to date thanks to Arthur’s Day and other GUINNESS projects. Contributions were made on behalf of people who “checked-in” to Arthur’s Day events via Facebook, so that this year, the celebrations continued the philanthropic legacy of Arthur Guinness and were true to the long standing tradition of the brand, to support those who are in the business of doing good.

With the 2012 festivities celebrated in style across the globe and a record number of people raising a toast to Arthur Guinness, plans are already beginning to ensure Arthur’s Day 2013 provides yet another night to remember for all those involved.

Ellie Goulding said, "Wow – what an incredible experience Arthur's Day was… Cork you were unbelievable! It was a night full of surprises all across Ireland – a great way to bring the whole country together in celebration of one incredible man. To Arthur!"

Guinness: Arthur's Day - TV Specials

Stuart Kinch, Guinness Marketing Manager, Diageo Western Europe

Following on from last week's announcements, today Guinness announced details of eight more music events for Arthur's Day: Arthur’s Day TV Specials. These events will take place in Cork, Dublin and Belfast, and will be part of Guinness's bid to put live music into 500 pubs across Ireland. The Arthur’s Day TV Specials will be recorded for later broadcast, both in Ireland and around the world, to give people who couldn’t be there, the opportunity to experience Arthur’s Day.

These events will feature some amazing home grown and international talent such as Rudimental, Jessie Ware, Willy Moon, P Money, Aluna George, This Club, The Riptide Movement, The Original Rudeboys, The Minutes, Lilygreen And Maguire, Josh Osho, Jake Bugg, Smiler, Dream Mclean, The Milk and Dublin Gospel Choir. As well as surprise performances from some of the headline Arthur’s Day artists.

Speaking about his Arthur’s Day visit, Professor Green said; "Myself and a few mates are heading to Ireland on September 27th to host a unique night at a surprise location to celebrate Arthur's Day. Expect a special night of music and more! Here's to Arthur!"

To get hold of tickets to these events, fans just need to apply through the Guinness Facebook Page from Wednesday 19th September.
 
Arthur's Day Social Media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Guinnessireland
Twitter: @GuinnessIreland
Hashtag: #ToArthur

Arthur’s day TV Specials -  Pub venues and acts
Dublin
Dakota:
·  Headline artist
·  Rudimental
·  P Money
·  The Original Rudeboys
·  Willy Moon
·  AlunaGeorge

Market Bar:
·  Headline artist
·  Lilygreen & Maguire
·  Josh Osho
·  Dublin Gospel Choir

Grand Social:
·  Headline artist
·  Kassidy
·  The Minutes
·  Jake Bugg

Whelan's:
·  Headline artist
·  Leaders of Men
·  Jake Bugg

Cork
Crane Lane Theatre:
·  Headline artist
·  This Club
·  The Riptide Movement
·  Hudson Taylor

The Old Oak:
·  Headline artist
·  Funeral Suits
·  This Club

Belfast
Lavery's:
·  Headline artist
·  Dream Mclean
·  Smiler
·  The Milk

Botanic Inn:
·  Headline artist
·  The Milk
·  The Wonder Villains
·  Jessie Ware


Confirmed Headline Artists
·  Amy Macdonald
·  Ellie Goulding
·  Example
·  Fatboy Slim
·  Fun Lovin’ Criminals
·  Mika
·  Mumford & Sons
·  Primal Scream
·  Professor Green
·  Texas
·  Tinie Tempah


500 Arthur’s Day Music Events
A selection of artists performing at the 500 music events include;
·  Delorentos
·  Royseven
·  Key West
·  Little Green Cars
·  Picturehouse
·  We Cut Corners
·  The Shoos
·  Jerry Fish
·  The Hot Sprockets
·  Mundy
·  Walking on Cars
·  Dove
·  The Vals
·  The Rapparee
·  The Bonnevilles
·  The Heads of State
·  Ard Ri
·  Midnight Graffiti
·  Fiddlers Green
·  Ruaile Buaile
·  Willie Byrne
·  Gentry Morris
·  The Muldoons
·  Shane Butler
·  Jaker
·  Hush Warley
·  Ghost Estates

A full list of 500 Arthur’s Day music events taking place in pubs across all 32 counties is available on Guinness.com.

Guinness: Arthur's Day - Mumford & Sons, Primal Scream or Fun Lovin' Criminals at Your Local

Today Guinness announced a raft of new additions to the confirmed Arthur's Day lineup. From Mumford & Sons to Primal Scream to Fun Lovin' Criminals, there are now even more top name acts and stars who you might see down your local. Not forgetting surprise performances, this September 27th is shaping up to be the biggest Arthur's Day yet.

Don't forget though, this year's Arthur's Day has no tickets. All you need to do is grab your mates and pop down to any one of 500 free Arthur’s Day music events taking place in local pubs across all 32 counties.

Of course, to shape which of these artists will appear in which local you'll need to join the 55,000+ people who have already voted. Though best hurry as voting will close on 16th September. The winning pubs will remain a secret to the public until the night itself so you never know who might walk through the door.

Fun Lovin’ Criminals, who are no strangers to Ireland said, "Doing things the normal way just ain’t us. That’s why we’re excited to be a part of Arthur’s Day this year. We’ll be putting on a special performance in a secret location and that’s all we can say. Ireland, you had better get ready for us."

Without doubt Arthur's Day promises to be a remarkable night of live music featuring hundreds of home grown artists and, as usual, a night full of surprises.

The Arthur Guinness Fund

Arthur's Day isn't just about music and entertainment. Through the Arthur Guinness Fund, Arthur’s Day supports social entrepreneurs in Ireland and around the world who are in the business of changing communities for the better. This year, for every ‘check-in’ to an Arthur’s Day Facebook event in any of the 500 locals, a €5 donation will be made to the Arthur Guinness Fund by Guinness.

Confirmed Headline Artists:

• Mumford & Sons
• Primal Scream
• Fun Lovin’ Criminals
• Example
• Tinie Tempah
• Ellie Goulding
• Mika Professor Green
• Fatboy Slim
• Texas
• Amy MacDonald

A selection of the other artists performing:

• Rubberbandits
• Delorentos
• Royseven
• Key West
• Little Green Cars
• Picturehouse
• We Cut Corners
• The Shoos
• Jerry Fish
• The Hot Sprockets
• Mundy
• Walking on Cars
• Dove
• The Vals
• The Rapparee
• The Bonnevilles
• The Heads of State
• Ard Ri
• Midnight Graffiti
• Fiddlers Geen
• Ruaile Buaile
• Willie Byrne
• Gentry Morris
• The Muldoons
• Shane Butler
• Jaker
• Hush Warley
• Ghost Estates

Note: The list of pub artists will continually be added to between now and Arthur’s Day on 27th September

Arthur's Day 2010: More Bands, More Artists & More Tickets

The last time I posted about Arthur's Day 2010 I was able to confirm venues and artists but the specifics weren't available. Since then not only have tickets gone on sale, and sold out!, but all the venues obviously had their respective artists finally confirmed. Unfortunately though, as I said, ticket sales were exceptional and many venues sold out almost straight away. Today, however, I am happy to pass on the very good news that Guinness has announced that a limited number of additional Arthur’s Day tickets for all studio venues will be released for sale at 9am tomorrow (Tuesday, 24th August) via Ticketmaster.

What could make this news any better? Guinness have also announced over 15 additional artists that have been added to the Arthur's Day line up including Manic Street Preachers, David Gray, Cathy Davey and Oscar-winning actor turned musician Tim Robbins & The Rogues Gallery Band. There have also been several new talents added to the line up such as Ty, The Courteeners, Biffy Clyro and Bitches with Wolves.

Speaking about Arthur’s Day, Manic Street Preachers said, “Some of our greatest gigs have been in Ireland; we really do have very special memories of playing there. From a tiny show for our first label Heavenly to playing Slane Castle and everything in between. The atmosphere will no doubt be amazing and we’re proud to a part of what is fast becoming one of Ireland’s biggest days of the year”.

While David Gray commented that "Coming back to Ireland is always a great experience for me and the band, particularly being back in Galway! It was amazing to be part of the celebrations last year and to support the Arthur Guinness Fund. We are really looking forward to getting the chance to play some of the new tunes as well as some old faves in such an amazing location. Cheers Arthur!"

New additions to the Arthur’s Day line up:

Studio Artists Manic Street Preachers David Gray Tim Robbins & the Rogues Gallery Band Biffy Clyro The Courteeners Ty Cathy Davey

Pub Artists David Kitt Oliver Cole Fight Like Apes Keywest Bitches with Wolves Ryan Sheridan Carly Connor

New Arthur's Day Artists

Orla Flanagan, Guinness Brand Manager said, “We are excited about the new acts added to the line up. We wanted to hold back some tickets so that fans of our newly announced artists including Manic Street Preachers and David Gray got an opportunity to see their favourite bands. The real magic of Arthur’s Day is that all the studio artists will also make a surprise appearance in an Arthur’s Day pub venue. Fans that purchase pub tickets will not only see great pub artists but also see artists like Brandon Flowers, Snow Patrol or Paolo Nutini play in a pub for €5 which is an exciting element of Arthur’s Day”.

The Arthur's Day celebrations will begin at 17:59 at St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin on 23rd September. The celebration will then continue with activities and events at various locations in Ireland and throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and North America. The full line up now stands as follows:

Studio Venues	Artists
St James’ Gate	Snow Patrol Manic Street Preachers Biffy Clyro Our Thursdays Winner
The Academy	Brandon Flowers Plan B José González Slow Club Tim Robbins & The Rogues Gallery Band
Olympia Theatre	Carbon/Silicon Cathy Davey The Chapters Our Thursdays Finalist
Vicar Street	The Maccabees The Hoosiers Eliza Doolittle The Courteeners
The Village	Kelis Tinie Tempah Example We Have Band Ty
Folan Quay, Galway Harbour	David Gray Newton Faulkner The Magic Numbers Sharon Shannon Our Thursdays Finalist
Savoy, Cork	Paolo Nutini Kt Tunstall The View Fortune O Emperor Our Thursdays Finalist

PUB VENUES	Each pub will also welcome a surprise performance on the night from a studio artist
Dublin
The Baggot Inn	Heathers David Kitt
The Bank	Joey Negro & The Sunburst Band
The Brazen Head	The Shoos Sparrow and the Workshop
Bruxelles	Sparrow and The Workshop Heathers
Dakota	The Milk Bitches with Wolves
Doheny & Nesbitt	John Spillane The Boy Who Trapped the Sun
Fitzsimons	Pilotlight Ryan Sheridan
Flannery’s	Molotov Jukebox
The George	Bitches with Wolves Dirty Epics
Hogans	RoySeven
Odeon	Oliver Cole Butterfly Explosion
O’Donoghue’s	David Kitt The Chapters
Oliver St. John Gogarty’s	The High Kings Oliver Cole
The Palace Bar	The Boy Who Trapped the Sun John Spillane
Pygmalion	The Dirty 9s The Rags
Sinnotts	Fight Like Apes Pilotlight
The Stag’s Head	The Rags Ryan Sheridan
The Temple Bar	Broken Records The High Kings
Whelans	Dirty Epics Butterfly Explosion
Galway
Kelly’s	Duke Special
Róisín Dubh	A Band Called Wanda Plus Special Guest
Taaffes	Johnny Flynn Plus Special Guest
Tigh Cóilí	A Band Called Wanda Johnny Flynn
Cork
Crane Lane Theatre	Carly Connor Keywest
Old Oak	Director Simon Fagan
The Pavilion	Mick Flannery Simon Fagan
Reardens	Mick Flannery Carly Connor
SoHo	Keywest Director

Further Information: Arthur Guinness Fund
The Arthur Guinness Fund supports the emerging sector of social entrepreneurship in Ireland. In April this year, Guinness assigned €1 million to ten social entrepreneurs with each of their projects receiving €100,000 and additional support and expertise from Diageo Ireland and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland. A further €1.5 million will be used to support future Irish social entrepreneurs in the coming years.

The Return Of Arthur's Day

Last September saw the birth of what has now been confirmed as an annual event: Arthur Guinness Day. This is the newest annual 'holiday' in the Irish calendar and a celebration of one of Ireland's most famous people, Arthur Guinness. To celebrate the man responsible for creating the world's most famous stout last September saw Dublin transformed into an epicentre of music, celebration and excitement. Literally thousands of people all came together to enjoy live music in over 33 venues across Dublin; including a special concert at St. James’s Gate brewery. Judging by yesterday's launch event at Bruxelles Bar on Grafton Street, this September 23rd will be no different.

Not only have Guinness confirmed that Arthur's Day is back this year but they also announced an expansion of the events to include Cork and Galway, as well as other festivities happening throughout the country. This year there will be one-off performances in unique locations from some of the world's biggest recording artists, with over 40 amazing bands to be announced during the summer months. To top this off, Arthur's Day will also be looking for 100 up and coming Irish acts to be part of the Arthur's Day line up in other Irish cities. So for every Thursday from mid July through to early August, Guinness will be running music events, called 'Our Thursdays', in pubs across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, giving emerging Irish music acts the opportunity to showcase their talents. Full information on the selection process is available on the Guinness site.

As before all proceeds from Arthur's Day ticket sales will be donated to the Arthur Guinness Fund. Full ticket information will be announced in mid July and I'll have all details here as soon as I hear them.

Previous Arthur's Day and Guinness 250 Celebration posts:

• Guinness 250: New Year's Eve
• Guinness 250 & An Age Of Reciprocity
• Guinness 250: A Final Cheers For Arthur
• Applications Open For The Arthur Guinness Fund
• To Arthur!
• The Arthur's Day Petition
• Countdown to Arthur's Day
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations: Update 2
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations: Update
• Guinness 250 Years Celebrations

Guinness: Arthur's Day 2012

Today, Guinness announced that Arthur’s Day will make a return on Thursday, 27th September, 2012.

Last year, hundreds of thousands of people across Ireland and millions more worldwide came together to celebrate Arthur’s Day which is the day that recognises Arthur Guinness, his spirit and remarkable legacy.

This year, Guinness promise even more surprises and plenty of excitement for Arthur’s Day 2012, but as always the pub will be at the heart of the celebrations.

Full details for Arthur’s Day 2012 will be revealed later this summer.

Guinness: Arthur's Day - Paints The Town Black App

Fans To Reveal Arthur’s Day Message and Raise
Over €30,000 for Arthur Guinness Fund

I've posted a lot about Arthur's Day, and will probably post some more, but this is definitely one of my favourite things happening around Arthur's Day this year. Today the Guinness Storehouse launched a brand new Facebook application that allows fans to paint a pixel on a canvass in the digital world that will trigger the spray painting a huge canvass in the real world action in the Guinness Storehouse to reveal an Arthur’s Day message.

The app also helps raising funds for charities as, for each pixel painted, Guinness will donate €5 to the Arthur Guinness Fund, generating in excess of €30,000 for the fund on completion of the painting.

Each pixel correlates to an area on the canvass that is hanging on the 1st floor of Guinness Storehouse. With 6600 pixels to paint, it is estimated that the final image will be created by midday tomorrow (Wednesday 26th September).

According to Lisa Fitzsimons, Marketing Manager of the Guinness Storehouse, ‘We are delighted that we are able to involve thousands of people in the creation of the real-world canvass at Guinness Storehouse. Fans of Guinness and the Guinness Storehouse can play their part in the creation of this canvass while continuing Arthur Guinness’ philanthropic legacy and generating funds for the Arthur Guinness Fund  benefiting many worthwhile social entrepreneurs in Ireland.’

Visitors to the Guinness Storehouse can interact with the application through teams of staff with iPads to claim their pixel and fans throughout Ireland can do so through their Facebook profile. Those who wish to see the real-world reveal can witness it on the 1st floor of the Guinness Storehouse.

The ‘Paint The Town Black’ can be found on the Guinness Ireland Facebook page and was developed by Tribal DDB London. Matt Oxley, Head of Creative Technology, Tribal DDB, London, said ‘This is a truly innovative campaign that blends technology and creativity to bring to life a traditional medium in a modern way’.

Countdown to Arthur's Day

16th September, 17:59 - the countdown is really on now folks. In just one week’s time, Dublin will be transformed into the epicentre of music, celebration and excitement for Arthur’s Day. Across Ireland thousands of people will be coming together to enjoy live music in over 33 venues across Dublin; including a special concert at the St. James’s Gate brewery itself.

A 48sheet carrying a Guinness 250 ad
coupled with a digital countdown clock

To get into the spirit of the occassion, people all over Ireland have been adding their names to an on-line petition. The petition was born out out of the Guinness 250 Facebook page, where the suggestion was put to the public - make Arthur’s Day a national holiday!

The Facebook page already has 26,795 fans and the online petition has 6,618 signatures.

So do you know what that means?

Only a quarter of Guinness 250 fans want Arthur's Day to become a national holiday! Seriously folks, what's up with that? Get to the page and get signing now!

Now I'm more then willing to tip my hat to all the loyal fans who already joined the fan page, lets face it, there's been one fan joining every 30 seconds. That's three fans in the time it takes your favourite pint to be poured ;)

So come on fans - sign the petition, who doesn't want another public holiday, especially in honour of such a great man.


Arthur's Day 2009
So where will you be at 17:59 on 24th September? Where will you be for this once in a lifetime moment, to raise a pint of Guinness to Arthur. In fairness, Arthur Guinness and his family were responsible for some of the most well known acts of philanthropy in Ireland and to honour and continue this legacy Guinness have established the Arthur Guinness Fund. The Fund is to enable and empower individuals with skills and opportunities to deliver a measured benefit to their communities. So Guinness & Co. are donating €6 million to the Arthur Guinness Fund. Could there be any better reason to toast the Arthur Guinness?

So all you need to do to join in the Global Toast to Arthur at 17:59 on Thursday 24th September, is get to one of the following venues or pubs (if you want to enjoy world class music), or just get down to your own local, pause a moment, and raise a pint of the black stuff to a truly great man.

To Arthur!


Pubs and Venues
This is the full list of artists that are publicly confirmed for each pub or venue. Now I say publically confirmed because each Pub will also feature 1 or 2 surprise special guests that won't be announced. The only way to know is to be there! Get on to ticketmaster now and get yourself a ticket.

The Academy
Fionn Regan, Imelda May, Paolo Nutini, Richard Hawley, The Kooks

Tripod
Calvin Harris, Jamie Cullum, Mongrel, Soul II Soul, Republic of Loose, Roots Manuva

Vicar Street
Black Swan Effect, OK Go, Razorlight, Reverend and The Makers, Sugababes, The Blizzards, The Magic Numbers

Whelan’s
David Gray, The Hot Rats, Lisa Hannigan, Noah and the Whale, The Enemy, The Undertones, The Wombats

Bruxelles
Jay Jay Pistolet, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club

Hogans
Born Blonde, Oppenheimer

Sin É
Concerto for Constantine, Dirty Epics

South William
David Kitt, The Infomatics

Brogans
Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, Cherbourg

Café en Seine
Leopold, White Belt Yellow Tag

Pygmalion
Hoarsebox, The Chapters

Spy
Oppenheimer, The Infomatics

Dicey Reilly's
The Chakras

The Baggot Inn
Leopold, Nat Jenkins

The Auld Dubliner
Jay Jay Pistolet, Lumiere

The Palace Bar
Fiona Melady, Sharon Shannon

The Church
Spring Break

The Village
Golden Silvers, The Coronas

The Odeon
Dirty Epics, General Fiasco

Oliver St John Gogarty
Born Blonde, David Kitt

The Temple Bar
Johnny Flynn, Lumiere

Flannery's
Cherbourg, Concerto for Constantine

Dakota
The Chakras, The Chapters

O'Donoghue's
Sharon Shannon, The High Kings

Market Bar
Golden Silvers, Mick Flannery

The Foggy Dew
Noise Control

Eamonn Dorans
White Belt Yellow Tag, Noise Control

The Stags Head
Johnny Flynn, General Fiasco

Mulligan’s
Fiona Melady, Mick Flannery

Doheny & Nesbitt
Eoghan Colgan, Nat Jenkins

The Bank on College Green
Hoarsebox, The Coronas

The Brazen Head
Eoghan Colgan, The High Kings

The Arthur's Day Petition

I wrote on Thursday about Arthur's Day and one of the things I mentioned was an on-line petition that is currently running on the Guinness 250 Facebook page. The petition is calling on the public to help make Arthur’s Day a national holiday!

Following a number of different pushes on Thursday, Friday was jam packed with coverage. All in there were no less then 6 high profile mentions of the petition; including The Irish Times, Ireland.com, BreakingNews.ie, The Evening Echo, The Irish Examiner, and Sunday Business Post


But what effect did any of this have on the campaign? As of 17.59 on Thursday there were:

• 26,795 fans on Facebook
• 6,618 signatures on the online petition

As of today at 12noon, it looked like this:

• 35,089 fans on Facebook
• 8,804 signatures on the online petition

That's an increase of 8,294 fans and 2,186 petition signatures in less then 66 hours! That is absolutely amazing. My only question, as it was on Thursday, is why have only a quarter of fans signed the petition? Seriously folks, all you have to do is click on the tab that says 'Petition' and enter your name. There's no other details required - just a name.

Arthur's Day is only four days away now - lets break the 10,000 mark on the petition. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell your co-workers. This is a big deal people - SIGN UP NOW!

Guinness: Arthur's Day 2012 TV Ad

To promote Arthur's Day 2012, Guinness today launched a new global TV ad. The new creative entitled ‘Paint The Town Black’ made its global TV premiere in Ireland today during the half-time break of the All-Ireland Hurling Championship Semi-Final on RTÉ Two.

Paint The Town Black, created by Saatchi & Saatchi and directed by Daniel Wolfe, is set around a sleepy little village as it prepares for an extraordinary celebration. The ad follows the towns people as they come together and begin to paint everything with a black distinctive liquid, before raising a pint to Arthur Guinness.

Guinness Marketing Manager, Stuart Kinch said: “We wanted to create an advert that brought to life the remarkable spirit of Arthur’s Day and encouraged people from around the world to be a part of the annual celebrations by raising a toast to the man behind our iconic pint, Arthur Guinness.”

Kate Stanners, Creative Partner, Saatchi & Saatchi said: “To paint the town is all about celebration. Instead of red, we painted it black in celebration of the black stuff and Arthur Guinness, the man behind the pint. We wanted to depict a tradition that has been going on for years, one where the whole town, gets together. We wanted to elicit the response of "I want to be there', and I think we have done that.”

The ad was shot in and around the Transylvania area of Romania over a period of 4 days, using more than 350 local people and 2,000 kilos of a specially made black liquid consisting of alimentar glucose mixed with water and black glucose

The ATL campaign will also include digital, outdoor and print executions of the creative theme, 'Paint The Town Black'.

For more information on Arthur’s Day please visit the Guinness Ireland Facebook page or Guinness Ireland website.


Soundtrack information
Title: Asfalt Tango
Artist: Fanfare Ciocarlia
Composed and arranged by Adrian Sical
Published by Piranha Musik / Administered in the UK & Ireland by Carthage Music Ltd
From the album "Baro Biao" (Piranha Musik – CDPIR1364)

Ad Credits
Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Executive Creative Director: Kate Stanners, Paul Silburn
Copywriter: Gavin Torrance
Art Director: Danny Hunt
Director: Daniel Wolfe

Guinness 250: A Final Cheers For Arthur

Last Friday I had the absolute pleasure of being invited along to Brady's Pub in Shankill. Admittedly Shankill isn't a place I spend much time, in fact I believe I've only been there 5 times previously, discounting driving through. So what exactly was I heading out to Brady's for? Well, as it turned out, a really great night!

As part of the Guinness 250 celebrations, back in November, Guinness held a “Guinness Unplugged” competition calling on bars from around the country to capture their Arthur’s Day celebrations. The prize would be an exclusive gig with a top act. As I'm sure you can guess, Brady’s of Shankhill were crowned the winners. There prize was a free gig by ‘Noah And The Whale’, which was held last Friday.


Speaking about Guinness Unplugged, Karen Murphy, Brand Manager, Guinness said,”On the 24th September pubs all around Ireland joined in the worldwide celebrations for Arthur’s Day. Many pubs went to great lengths to ensure their customers were fully immersed in the unique Guinness experience, to mark the signing of the 9000 year signed by Arthur Guinness in 1759. For us, Brady’s in Shankhill really stood out. The team really excelled in delivering a fantastic night with their 1759 theme. It was clear that a lot of hard work and thought had gone into their Arthur’s Day celebrations and all the staff came together to create an unforgettable night for their customers”.

The entire bar, including the bar staff, the furniture, the decor and even the food was transported back to the 1700’s, as tribute to Arthur Guinness and his enduring legacy. The Brady’s staff even donned 17th century costumes and owner, John Brady, arrived in a full Arthur Guinness style costume on horse and cart to mark the occasion. It didn't stop there though, that evening the entire bar and all its customers were treated to a “pig on a spit” feast.

Owner and publican, John Brady commented, “We are delighted to have won the Guinness Unplugged competition. We all had a really fantastic time on Arthur’s Day. Everyone is still talking about it, the atmosphere in here was electric and everyone made such a big effort to mark the occasion. We are delighted to be hosting such a big act as ‘Noah And The Whale’ in our pub as a thank you, and no doubt we will all raise another toast to Arthur at 17.59 on the night of the gig!”.

So....... to Arthur!


p.s. a huge thanks to Carol Ann for the photos :)

Guinness: Example's Arthur's Day 2012 Challenge

As I mentioned in my previous post, Example will be one of this year's Arthur's Day artists. So ahead of his surprise performance in one of the 500 'Vote For Your Local' pubs on Arthur’s Day, Example created this exclusive video in response to the challenge to name the 500 Arthur’s Day pubs in the time it takes to pour a pint of Guinness...

Guinness 250 & An Age Of Reciprocity

There aren't very many brands that turn 250 years old, and there are even fewer brands that have an entire nation is willing to stand up and applaud, both for their heritage and for their synonymy with their own culture. Guinness is in many ways the epitome of Irish-ness, the prime example of who we are as a nation - hard-working, everyday folk with a strength of character to see us through. As a brand, Guinness is surely one of the best. A globally recognised powerhouse of advertising, design and innovation. Guinness extends beyond a simple beverage and has developed itself into sport and the arts. Guinness has done what many brands not only fail at, but never even realise to try. Guinness gives back.

In a changing modern digital world where the consumer is savvy and they have realised that the power to effect corporations and businesses is their's, Guinness have embraced change and strived to promote what I call 'an age of reciprocity'. The question is not how do I make you buy my product, the question is what can I do for you so that you love my brand. In a market where consumers will travel, bargains will be hunted for, and there is always an alternative, it is more important then ever to understand that the educated consumer can be either your friend or foe.

Social Media has opened up the world, democratised data, and given every single one of us the power to speak our mind and broadcast our opinion. Those with their thinking caps firmly in place, however, have come to realise this is in fact a good thing. The modern consumer is not naïve, they understand the buyer/seller relationship and they are, in most instances, happy with it. So long as everyone keeps their word, what is paid for is received, and the status quo of the relationship remains even, happiness will prevail.

As a brand though, it is easy to take this equilibrium and subtle sway it in your favour. Not by any underhandedness but simply by going that bit further, providing the little bit extra, by doing more to ensure that the customer is more then just happy. Of course, being a savvy shopper, this is noticed, and as long as the motives are clear, this will be looked on very favourably by the consumer. We like to feel that our patronage is being rewarded. We like to feel that we are part of the process. We like to feel special.

The nature of Reciprocity is that while there is a clear understanding that the buyer buys and the seller sells, there is also a deeper understanding that both parties are appreciative of the other. This relationship is by its nature symbiotic. Without one the other can't exist. So with that knowledge in hand, the seller goes a little step further. The best example that I have seen to date was Arthur’s Day. To celebrate 250 years of business and to thank the public for 250 years of patronage, Guinness put on a huge event filled with music and entertainment to a scale that had simply never been done before in Ireland. While the gigs/events weren't free, they were very reasonably priced, and the money that was taken in in ticket sales went to charity. So the public get to have a great time, they get to donate money to charity, and Guinness get to give back to the community. And sure, there were thousands upon thousands of pints of Guinness drank that day, but that's nothing to complain about.

Reciprocity is more then a passing trend in my opinion. Reciprocity is the natural evolution of the consumer/supplier relationship. Reciprocity is what has happened to the market through the prevalence of Social Media, the explosion of mobile technologies and the expansion of always-on, super-fast broadband. Reciprocity is a cultural revolution of consumerism. Above all though, Reciprocity is a great thing.

In the case of Guinness, however, the question now becomes where to next?

Well it just so happened that earlier today, Guinness announced details of a spectacular live TV ad to be broadcast on RTÉ 1 at 17:59 on New Year’s Eve, marking the end of the 250th anniversary celebrations and the establishment of the Arthur Guinness Fund.

The 60 second spectacle will feature a visual recreation of Arthur’s famous signature in a dramatic way, which will not be revealed until the broadcast at exactly 17:59 on New Year’s Eve.

In this instance, Reciprocity is simply going beyond the standard advertising message. It is the innovativeness to be creative, the daring to not directly push a product, it is the doing what the other guy isn't because it's exciting.

John Kennedy, Managing Director, Diageo Ireland commented, “New Year’s Eve marks the end of a very special milestone for the Guinness brand, from 1759 when Arthur signed the 9,000 year lease on the St. James’s Gate brewery to today, where Guinness is a truly iconic brand, enjoyed in 150 countries around the world. It was remarkable to see so many people participating in Arthur’s Day, the peak of the 250 celebrations. Guinness & Co also want to thank all the people who went to their local pub to lend their support and more importantly, their signature to the Guinness “Signature” campaign, which helped to create a €2.5 million Arthur Guinness Fund.”

Kennedy continued, “The ‘Here’s To You’ campaign and the live TV ad will not only mark the end of a remarkable year for the brand, but it’s also a gesture to Irish people who helped to create the Arthur Guinness Fund, the next philanthropic step from Guinness & Co., which will help to create sustainable community projects around the country from 2010.”

And it is on that sentiment that I can happily raise a glass to a man and his legacy; to Arthur!


Don't forget to check out the following links for more Guinness information:
Guinness Facebook Page
The Arthur's Day on-line petition
The Arthur Guinness Fund

Applications Open For The Arthur Guinness Fund

As I said back in August when I first wrote about the Guinness 250 Years Celebrations, "Unless you've been hiding under a stone lately, you'll be well aware that this September 24th marks the first Arthur’s Day." So back in September on a Thursday evening the country took a break and celebrated the birth of Guinness (the signing of the Guinness lease at St. James’s Gate), and across Dublin hundreds of people enjoyed a spectacular evening's music. Arthur's Day wasn't just about music and pints though. To celebrate the birth of Guinness, Guinness announced the setting up of the Arthur Guinness Fund.

The fund represents up to €2.5m that will be made available to Social Entrepreneurs. The fund is seeking to find and support up to 25 Social Entrepreneurs over a two-year period within Ireland. These 25 Social Entrepreneurs will gain financial support (€100,000 per project) and practical support and advice from the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Alumni network.

Sean Coughlan, CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland said, "We were delighted to support Guinness believing, as we do, that this initiative could have a very significant impact for social entrepreneurs and the communities they support and have agreed to be their partner in the development of the fund."

The big news is that applications are now open for the Arthur Guinness Fund.

So what next? Well, for more information on the Arthur Guinness Fund and how to apply, click here.