London - As Africa prepares for the African Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup 2010, Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA launched the next installment of the GUINNESS ‘Greatness’ series in Nigeria on Saturday 14 November 2009 to coincide with the Nigeria versus Kenya World Cup qualifier match.
Employing the inspirational powers of ‘the beautiful game’, the new television commercial (TVC) is based around the central idea that there is Greatness in every man, everywhere and is a call to action for men to step up and realise their potential today.
Building on the success of Saatchi & Saatchi’s global campaign for GUINNESS 250, the TVC ‘Scout’ is narrated by UK West End star Danny Webb and begins with Webb arriving at an African airport, as Mr. Tommy Howe, a football scout. Journeying to Africa in search of the Greatness in one player, he eventually finds its presence everywhere.
As Howe’s driver shows him through the city, he passes impromptu football matches taking place all around, on the side of the street, in a hotel carpark. As the story continues, Webb’s driver, a spectator at the official match becomes the unexpected hero, seizing opportunity to demonstrate his own exceptional skill when the ball comes his way on the sideline.
John Pallant, Regional Creative Director EMEA, Saatchi & Saatchi said “We wanted this next iteration of Greatness to be an inspirational, uplifting story of passion and self belief from the world of African Football. To achieve this we worked with our African network to send creative teams ‘Xploring’ in Africa to uncover real insights from the real people we wanted to connect with. The fascinating, authentic stories they came back with were alive with optimism and were the inspiration for our work.”
Simon Breckon, Marketing Director, GUINNESS Nigeria said “This latest work builds on the GUINNESS Greatness strategy across Africa; particularly in Nigeria (the world’s second biggest GUINNESS market), further driving affinity with the brand. ‘Scout’ brings together the Greatness of African football with the Greatness of GUINNESS in a way we know will appeal to all football fans and inspire them to step up and realise their potential.”
Directed by Greg Gray and shot in Nairobi, Mombassa and Malindi, the footballers featured are all local amateur players from Nigeria and Kenya, put through a four day bootcamp with top football choreographer Mike Delaney.
The campaign launches as GUINNESS ramps up its football programme across Africa, featuring international football stars and brand ambassadors Michael Essien, Samuel Eto'o and "Jay-Jay" Okocha.
Following release in Nigeria, ‘Scout’ will air across the region in Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, Uganda and throughout 13 venture markets including Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone and Togo.