This film is part of Free
Guinness - End of Play
Guinness advert equating the slow pace of its drinking and serving with that of a game of cricket.
Overview
If there’s one theme that constantly recurs in Guinness advertising, it’s the notion that a pint should be enjoyed at leisure - or, as the equally languid narration puts it, a “long, easy pace”. A cricket match is a singularly appropriate sport to convey that notion, the measured strides of the players returning to the pavilion after taking up the stumps matched by the equally painstaking pouring of the bottled Guinness right down to the very last drop - this last given special attention.
Director Tony Scott spent the period between his first two features Loving Memory (1971) and The Hunger (1983) almost exclusively making commercials, mostly for his older brother’s Ridley Scott Associates. He also helped oversee the company, especially when Ridley’s feature film career began to take flight in the late 1970s. One of the briefly-glimpsed cricketers is played by John Alderton, who initially made his name as the newly-qualified teacher in the LWT sitcom Please Sir! (1968-71) and had more recently graduated to feature films (Zardoz, 1974; It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet, 1976).
Related
What We Want Is Watney's What We Want Is Watney's
Advert 1959 1 mins
A young Michael Caine bursts on to the scene as a cheeky soldier in this delightful advert for Watney's beer.
Guinness - Plinths Guinness - Plinths
Advert 1976 1 mins
Pete and Dud prove to be stout football fans in this Guinness commercial recalling a great sporting moment - however fleeting.
PG Tips: Hairdressers PG Tips: Hairdressers
Advert 1978 1 mins
An example of the long-running Brooke Bond PG Tips advertising campaign, with talking chimpanzees dressed as humans.
Guinness - Raf Flying Toucans Guinness - Raf Flying Toucans
Advert 1955 1 mins
An RAF squadron are alerted to an attack. Flying toucans raid the officers mess and fly off with glasses of Guinness.
Fun on the Farm Fun on the Farm
Advert 1935 5 mins Silent
What seems a charming stop-motion rhapsody for Bourn-vita chocolate reveals some unpleasant racial insensitivity.
The Spirit of His Forefathers The Spirit of His Forefathers
Advert 1900 1 mins Silent
One of the earliest surviving British adverts
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.
Edgar Wright on The Running Man Edgar Wright on The Running Man
Inside Film 2025 28 mins
The director talks to Mark Kermode about putting Stephen King's dystopian life-or-death gameshow thriller through its paces.
Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 69 mins
Richard Linklater discusses his remarkable and wide-ranging body of work, including Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague.
Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 73 mins
Daniel Day-Lewis, the ultimate actor’s actor discusses his career in conversation with Mark Kermode.