![]() ![]() In other countries, like Nigeria, Guinness will organize showings of the film in town halls or mobile cinemas as part of an extensive screening program to take the movie to as many people as possible. Kenya, for instance, has movie-theater chains so the film will be released into general distribution like any other. Couchman said.ĭistribution will vary by country. It shows the quality of work that can come out of Africa," Ms. "It had to be an African film, made by Africans and for an African audience. The writer, actors and crew members are all African. Nigeria alone is Guinness' third-biggest market in the world, and Africa accounts for 25% of Guinness' worldwide sales. Sold in Africa for 150 years, Guinness is considered a local brand. I'm flying."įor Diageo, it's critical that "Critical Assignment" not be regarded as a 106-minute ad, and that it is considered an African film. I'm driving." Michael Power's own response to the same question is "No. One character never drinks, and another refuses a drink with a polite "No. The film is also careful to promote responsible drinking. "Consumers are very sophisticated and unless you maintain the integrity of the film you may as well pack up and go home." "Product placement only occurs where it's right for the story," Ms. One action scene includes a Guinness truck. Characters chat in a bar as they drink from Guinness bottles. For a decade, the Diageo Foundation has supported an international humanitarian program called "Water for Life" that backs clean-water programs in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, top targets for the film.Īlong with the water theme, Guinness' famous black stout is prominent in the movie. In the real world, the lack of safe drinking water is a major issue for Africa. The hero uncovers a plot to block the government from channeling military spending into providing clean water. In the movie, Michael Power is an international journalist who returns to his fictitious African homeland to cover the story of the president's decision to reallocate the country's budget for weapons to a "Water for All" project. One thing we were not going to do was create one long ad." "We had to create a film that had the integrity of a film. The challenge was to create a film to wow cinema-goers, but did not sound like an ad or violate the character attributes with which Guinness endowed Michael Power. "Consumers said Michael Power should be in a movie," Ms. The idea for a full-blown movie arose from market research. Africa is one of the fastest-growing regions for Guinness, and the Michael Power campaign is a key contributor, according to the company.Ĭelia Couchman, executive producer of "Critical Assignment" and a director of Bedford, U.K.-based based consultant White Tiger Management, was marketing director for Guinness Africa from 1996 to 2000 and was responsible for the original Michael Power ad campaign. Guinness has measured the campaign largely through tracking brand-image characteristics such as affinity, distinctiveness and engagement, and these have increased significantly. ![]() The character, the company said, doesn't carry a gun or resort to violence, but overcomes obstacles through perseverance and reliance on inner strength. The string of five-minute ads styled as mini adventure films became so popular that cash-strapped TV stations in Africa sometimes aired them as free programming.Īccording to a Guinness spokesperson, the original Michael Power campaign was based on three elements: Africa's tradition of storytelling, the need for a hero figure and the lack of quality entertainment in Africa. Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi created the action hero Michael Power in a commercial that first aired across Africa in 1999. ![]() A 100-strong crew spent three months filming in 40 locations in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The movie may be shown outside Africa, and the concept of using a character from an ad campaign in a movie may be replicated in other regions such as Asia, according to a Guinness executive. "Michael Power: Critical Assignment" premiered last week in several African cities ahead of a pan-African release. Rather than signing an action-thriller film star to appear in Guinness commercials, the brewer's parent, Diageo, is bankrolling a feature film starring a character from the brand's long-running African TV campaign. Guinness is turning celebrity product endorsement on its head.
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