“Guinness Gives You Soul Power!” (Campaign Concept & Copy)

The Brand:

Africa is Guinness’s largest market in world. Nigeria is second only to Britain in consumption.
Ask any West African, and they’ll tell you Guinness is their unofficial stout.
But Guinness hasn't hit the mark speaking to this core and loyal audience.

Objective:

Speak to first and second generation West Africans on the continent 
and abroad (US and UK) with the cultural specificity their loyalty deserves.

We’re speaking to the Nigerian or Ghanaian auntie or uncle 
who sips Guinness at every funeral, wedding, and naming ceremony.

The Insight:

There is a man or woman at every West African celebration 
who finds the dancefloor regardless of the occasion. 

The Idea

"Guinness Gives You Power" originated as Guinness's Africa-specific slogan in the 1960s,
adapted from the European "Guinness for Strength" to speak directly to West African consumers.

This campaign reclaims that legacy with one addition: Guinness Gives You Soul Power!
Power, redefined as the force of a people gathering, moving, and living.

Revive the legendary Guinness Dancing Man as a West African icon, the man or woman who’s always dancing with a Guinness.
A living portrait of community, celebration, and joy deeply connect with West African culture.

The Spot:

30 sec: 

MUSIC IN: William Onyeabor, "Body and Soul” a buzzy synthesizer’s pulse rises slowly under ambient crowd noise.

A money machine blows a mix and Nigerian naira and dollars/pounds onto a dance floor. 
Centered is a mid-40s West African uncle, immaculate in his agbada or a slightly-too-loud print shirt and tight jeans.
He looks at his glass, he’s nearly out of Guinness.

He dances with complete unselfconscious joy to the open bar, empty glass in hand. His little niece watches from the corner.
Without cutting, the background shifts: from a wedding, to a garden party, then to a funeral, then to a Christmas sitting room. 
No matter the occasion, he’s there... always dancing. 

All the while, his glass of Guinness is resolute. He looks directly at the camera and takes a hero sips from the glass. 

VO: Guinness Give You Soul Power!

Concept: Developed a content strategy for Protracta, a film and media criticism platform, 
built around three audience-defined pillars: relatability, resources, and recommendations.

Execution: Produced and published 306 pieces of original content on TikTok, writing all copy and scripting all on-camera material independently.

Results: In 45 days, grew from 282 to 4,300+ followers, a 1,424% increase. Over the same period: 905K post views, 162K likes, 11K shares, and 3K comments totaling 176K engagements. Counter Canon's Substack reached 630+ subscribers and sold out a 30-person live event within two weeks of announcement 
with zero paid promotion across both platforms.

Editorial: The Counter Canon (Brand Voice & Copy)

Concept: Developed the editorial identity and copy strategy for The Counter Canon, a film club, weekly gathering, and Substack publication
bringing underrepresented and overlooked films into contemporary culture. Previous films include To Sleep with Anger (Charles Burnett),
Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash), My Father’s Shadow (Akinola Davies Junior).



Execution: Wrote all copy across every touchpoint: weekly film essays, event copy, and subscriber communications.
Built a distinct brand voice from the ground up: community-oriented, critical, unifying. 



Every piece of writing was calibrated to attract serious film audiences while remaining legible 
to readers encountering experimental and world cinema for the first time.



Results: Copy alone drove 630 Substack subscribers and sold out a 30-person event within two days 
of a single announcement with zero paid media spend. Consistent voice across platforms converted readers 
into an engaged audience on email, demonstrating that the writing functioned as both editorial content and conversion copy.