Guinness is good for ‘Game of Thrones’ actor

Rory McCann: Game of Thrones actor provided voiceover for Guinness advert
Rory McCann: Game of Thrones actor provided voiceover for Guinness advert

The new Guinness “Surge” campaign – the poster treatment by acclaimed surf photographer Brian Bielmann was seen on Irish billboards in April – is to launch on UK TV this week as part of a €15 million advertising push behind the brand across outdoor, cinema, digital and mobile.

Created by AMV BBDO, it echoes the famous “surfer” ad for the brand which picked up a clutch of top international advertising awards in 1999.


Clock tower
While this surf ad is more modest than that lavish cinematic one, it is at least a more recognisable "Guinness ad" than the most recent TV campaign shown on Irish TV which centred around a clock tower in a Czech village, with the theme of time slowing up.

Curiously the voiceover for the new “Surge” campaign does not pay homage to the brand’s Irish heritage – it is voiced by Scottish actor Rory McCann, best known in these parts from his role in Game of Thrones.

Bernice Harrison

Bernice Harrison

Bernice Harrison is an Irish Times journalist and cohost of In the News podcast