Photos: John Gilroy working on illustrations, Newcastle University archive
John Gilroy
From 1928 to the early '60s John Gilroy, a talented artist, was the illustrator of the iconic "Guinness is good for you," and "My goodness, my Guinness" advertisements. The two campaigns ran ran simultaneously for 30 years.
Born in England in 1898, Gilroy studied at Durham University until the break out of World War I, when he left to serve with the Royal Field Artillery. After his service ended he returned to his studies, this time at the Royal College of Art.
In 1925 Gilroy went to work for S.H. Benson, a popular advertising agency in the '20s and '30s that produced long-running campaigns for Guinness, Wills Gold Flake, Bovril and many others.
Gilroy began work on the Guinness account in 1928. creating images for the first ever slogan associated with the brand: "Guinness is good for you." The ads typically featured phrases such as "Guinness for Strength" and "A Guinness a day."
Right: "The Girder" was one of Gilroy's most recognized works from the "Guinness is good for you" campaign. Perhaps his most prominent work came with the second campaign, "My goodness, my Guinness" According to the Guinness Storehouse website, Gilroy was attempting to create a human "Guinness family." But after an inspiring visit to the circus he ditched the effort in favor of using animals instead. Thus began the Guinness animal family consisting of: the zookeeper (a caricature of Gilroy), an ostrich, pelican, a tortoise, a lion, bear, crocodile, kangaroo, giraffe, polar bear, gnu, kinkajou, a penguin and, last but not least, the infamous toucan. Advertising featuring the toucan first appeared in 1935, and is arguably the most recognized from the campaign. Originally the ad was to be of a pelican with its' own rhyme, but Dorothy L. Sayers rewrote the ad's copy and changed the bird to a toucan. The toucan, like the harp logo, has become integrated into the Guinness image . Right: The toucan ad featuring Dorothy L. Sayers' copy. The toucan was the first animal to appear in Guinness advertising. In his 30 plus years working on the Guinness account, Gilroy created more than 100 press advertisements and 50 different posters. The last major ad Gilroy created for the campaign was in 1961. The ad depicted the menagerie of Guinness animals by the seaside. |
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Video: Kieron from Guinness Storehouse explains Gilroy's inspiration for using zoo animals for the "My goodness, my Guinness" campaign.
Interviewer: Kelli Rollin
Interviewer: Kelli Rollin