Michael Power (Guinness character)

Michael Power is an advertising character, the cornerstone of a large marketing campaign by the beer company Guinness to promote its products in Africa from 1999 to 2006. The character was played by Cleveland Mitchell, who was born in Jamaica and raised in Great Britain. By 2003, it became one of the best-known alcohol advertising campaigns in Africa.

Jo Foster of the BBC referred to Power as "Africa's very own 'James Bond'".

In 1999, the marketing firm Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide was trying to turn Guinness in Africa into what they call a "Lovemark", what they describe as a brand that enjoys "loyalty beyond reason" from consumers. The African market for Guinness at the time was faltering. Saatchi & Saatchi's goal was thus to advertise Guinness to the diverse populations across the continent and to double Guinness sales by 2005. In the words of African Managing Director Eric Frank, "... we had to find what we called the Simple, Universal, Relevant Truth that would persuade a continent to adore Guinness. We expressed it this way: Inside me there's a powerful, heroic, assured person. I want to live my life as that person. When I drink Guinness I become more fully who I am." Celia Couchman, African Marketing Director at the time, provided the answer: an African answer to James Bond with no particulars such as his age or nationality to relegate him to any particular ethnic group or region. Michael Power was born, the brainchild of Steven Shore, who worked at Saatchi & Saatchi in Cape Town. Throughout the entire seven-year campaign, Shore wrote and helped direct the Michael Power series, for both radio and television.

Instead of having Power deliver a straightforward sales pitch, Saatchi & Saatchi starred him as the hero of a series of mini-adventures on radio and television. The adverts, averaging three to five minutes in length, place Power in various action scenarios, where his resourcefulness and virility allow him to escape from danger or rescue the damsel in distress. Beginning in 2002, other adverts have featured the character in more domestic scenarios, such as attending a surprise party or guiding taxi cabs to illuminate a street festival with their headlights. His catchphrase, "Guinness brings out the power in you!" thus casts the beer in the same positive light as the strong, virile, triumphant hero.

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