Guinness acts to pull more people into pubs

Guinness is looking to drive more people into pubs with a £5m ad campaign aimed at celebrating the after-work drinking occasion.

Entitled '17:59. It's Guinness Time', the activity will include sampling, new TV, digital and print advertising as well as point of sale in pubs - all of which brand owner Diageo Great Britain claims will give licensees the tools they need to give customers a great experience.

A total of 12,000 promotional kits will be distributed to pubs up and down the country from the first week of September, with customers handed the chance to win a Guinness watch.

A quiz card will be given with every pint of Guinness and once five cards are collected, pub customers will be able to send these in to win.

The cards are restricted for distribution to Monday to Thursday after 5pm to make the most of the '17:59' after work time.

A TV advert, running for six weeks, will use acrobats to recreate the "dazzling surge" that occurs when a pint of Guinness is poured.

Paul Cornell, marketing manager for Guinness, said: "By creating a campaign around 17:59, we are continuing to show our commitment around driving footfall in to the on-trade during the after-work drinking occasion.

"Five to 8pm is a key trading period for licensees, with 34 per cent of all beer sold during this time. However this occasion is in decline, resulting in our focus on driving people back in to the pub at this key time."