Sunday 12 May 2013

Here come the Guinness girls: The retro 1970s advertisements meant to get ladies to go for an LBD (that's Little Black Drink)

PUBLISHED: 13:07, 12 May 2013 | UPDATED: 13:07, 12 May 2013

It is traditionally associated with burly pub drinkers, post-rugby pints and Irishmen, but as these retro advertisements show, Guinness once appealed to their more feminine side.

The 1970s series of photographs feature glamorous women holding the drink, playing boardgames or a simple 'ladylike' pair of red lips above the rim of a pint.

Women are encouraged to 'turn a few heads in the pub' by ordering a pint of Guinness, poured into a stemmed goblet.

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Surprising choice: The advertisements which ran in the 1970s encouraged women to 'turn a few heads in the pub' by ordering a Guinness

The ad goes on to ask that women muster their 'clearest voice' to order a bottle of Guinness before ignoring the 'stares, winks and nudges and just enjoy your beer.'

‘Guinness is viewed very much as a male drink, but in the 1970s we ran the great ad campaign solely targeted at women,' says Eibhlin Roche, archivist at Guinness.

'Award-winning photographers of the time were invited to shoot women in beautiful poses putting Guinness at the centre for their social occasion or at the centre of a stylish occasion.'

As Guinness build a brand new Dublin brewery set to open next month, Guinness has taken a look in the mirror at the classic advertisement campaigns which are part of both pop and pub culture around the world.

Vintage look: A stylish Seventies couple enjoying a game of 'blackgammon' while enjoying a goblet of the dark stout

In all the girls' 'wardrobes': Every girl need's a Little Black Drink - at least in the Seventies

Best known are the classic 'Toucan advertisements' by illustrator John Gilroy featuring zoo animals enjoying their keepers' Guinness .

They made Guinness so much more accessible to people, going from being the ‘black and white drink’ the Gilroy ads made it so colourful,' Ms Roche adds.

'Then you have the iconic ‘Swim black’ and ‘Surfer’ ads from the late nineties which just has an instant callback with people.'

A Daily Mail first: Guinness premiere advertisement was printed in the Daily Mail on February 6, 1929, using the tagline 'Guinness is good for you'

The 1999 'Surfer' ad, showing a group of men catching a black wave, and as the wave breaks giant horses comes thundering out of the sea above them, was voted 'Best ad of all time' in a 2002 poll.

'One word we have for Guinness is "extraordinary",' says Senior Brand Manager Stephen O'Reilly.

'Culture changes and people’s attitude and taste are changing, but when it comes to Guinness advertising we find that people want a deeper meaning to it and we want to stand for something.

'We think Guinness is extraordinary and the people who drink it are extraordinary.'

Classic: The Guinness toucans take a flight in this advertisement from the 1930s

My goodness, my Guinness! The iconic Gilroy advertisements from the 30s and 40s featuring zookeepers losing their precious stout to animals

Guinness dreams: An early 20th century ad featuring two men cleaning a ship making a comic exchange

In a throwback to the seventies advertisements the team at Guinness have brought back the half-pint goblets featuring in the retro pictures.

Less daunting than a full pint, a goblet of Guinness will only set you back 99 calories, significantly less than a standard glass of Chardonnay's 185 calories or even the 112 calories in a G&T.

The 'black' colour of Guinness, which is more ruby red than black, comes from the barley which is roasted at the St James' Gate brewery in Dublin - one of five in the world - where three million pints of 'Ireland's black gold' are brewed every day.