Diageo hopes a £5m ad campaign for Guinness will breathe new life into the "pigeonholed" brand and attract lighter drinkers to the black stuff.

The latest activity kicked off on Wednesday with World a TV advert that shows men building a new world, with clouds, oceans and forests being constructed out of barren land. It finishes with the strapline 'Bring it to Life' a line that symbolised the new direction Diageo want to take the brand, said Guinness marketing manager Paul Cornell.

The previous marketing strategy for Guinness which hinged on the strapline 'Good Things Come to Those Who Wait' and featured commercials including the Tipping Point ad set in an Argentinian village had failed to engage lighter drinkers, said Cornell. "Good Things has done a good job and helped make Guinness aspirational. However, it also pigeonholed the brand to set occasions, like quiet low-tempo Sunday afternoons. The new direction sees Guinness as more mid-tempo Thursday and Friday nights," he added.

"It is not the taste that has been putting people off drinking Guinness but the perception that it is a heavy and serious drink. We needed to do something epic on a huge scale. World has got the hallmarks and style of old Guinness ads but with more energy."

The ad, which was shot in locations such as New Zealand and Canada and will run until the end of December, marks the brand's biggest spend since its 2007 Tipping Point campaign, which cost £10m.

Last year Guinness's advertising spend was down 24% year-on-year [Billetts 52w/e 31 August 2009].

"Our media spend was lower because we invested in different areas. We reduced online presence having learned that if someone wants to play an online game they will find a gaming site and upped sampling activity. " said Cornell.

World will run for a year in TV, cinema, online and print formats. Diageo expects the ad will prompt the sale of an extra 10 million cans of Guinness over the next year.

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