Guinness has released a new TV campaign for the Irish market intended at not jinxing the Ireland teams chances ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
With the team ranked number one in the world and going in as Guinness Six nations Champions, the ad, developed by AMV BBDO, was inspired by a universal truth about being a fan: the feeling that your actions directly affect your team’s performance.
Despite the excitement about the strength of their team, confidence doesn’t come easily to Irish fans. Through social listening, GUINNESS and AMV have identified that Irish fans’ worry that any overconfidence is going to come back to bite them.
So, the creative work plays with the natural caution and self-deprecation of Irish fans by reminding them that allowing themselves to say what they could win can cost their teams’ result.
The message is that whatever you do, don’t say Ireland is going to w*n for risk of jinxing it.
The TV ad that kicks off the campaign was shot in sports-documentary style, with Ireland fans being interviewed about their hopes for the 2023 season and their reflections on previous disappointments.
It begins with a couple in a pub arguing over whether saying ‘Ireland was going to w*n’ cost the team a championship title once.
In another one, colleagues in a local cafe persuade themselves that a few group games will offer more than enough excitement.
In the final scene, a banner is revealed on the side of an ironically iconic GAA pub in Dublin, with the message “We’re going all the way! (To France)”. Finally, a title appears: “Think it. Just don’t jinx it.”
30 and 60 second versions of the ad will run on TV and social media over the coming weeks.
Poster advertising reminding rugby fans to “not jinx it” will be placed near pubs nationwide. A series of activations across the country will also highlight past wrongdoings and ‘get everyone supporting the Irish team in the right way this time.’
“As a long-standing partner of the IRFU, we wanted to launch a campaign that truly relates to Irish rugby fans,” said Alan McAleenan, Brand Director, Guinness Ireland.
“All of Ireland will be supporting the team with every fibre, but our campaign urges fans to bottle that excitement at that crucial moment when it might bubble over, and we get too confident – don’t jinx it.”
“No matter what your sport or who your team is, we’ve all got too carried away and jinxed things – it’s a universal superstition that even the most sceptical of us believe to be true when it comes to sport,” added AMV BBDO creatives Will Brookwell and Louis Prenaud.
“Heading into another enormous tournament with their team ranked #1 and previous years heartbreaks fresh in their minds, this insight has never been truer for Ireland fans. GUINNESS too is a huge fan of the national team, so our campaign aims to get ahead of the loose lips and remind everyone to support safely, and to never say that one forbidden thing.”
