UK: Diageo has rejected suggestions that Guinness is losing market share, and claims sales have actually risen over the past six months. The company’s end-of-year results showed that total volumes of Guinness sold in the UK have dropped by three per cent since 2003, with volumes in the on-trade falling by 5%, according to Quantum Business Media. However, Nick Robinson, marketing director for Guinness, claimed that over the last six months the brand had bucked an overall industry trend. He said: “In that time sales in the total beer market have fallen by 0.8 per cent but sales of Guinness have risen by 1.3 per cent so we are very happy.”

He believes that the launch of Guinness’s new “Out of Darkness” advertising campaign in February was one of the main reasons for the recent success. “Guinness is very responsive to good TV advertising with decent marketing back-up, much more so than other brands,” he said.

Guinness has just launched the follow up to February’s “Moth” advert. “Mustang”, which cost £15m and was directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Anthony Mingella, continues the “Out of Darkness Comes Light” series. Mr Robinson said: “I think Mustang will remind people of the great Guinness adverts of the past.”

08 September, 2004