Golden Brands of 1999

Golden Brands of 1999

In 1999, the Guinness ‘Surfer’ TV ad campaign, inspired by Moby Dick, won more awards than any other commercial that year with its story of the surfer taking on the perfect wave.

It takes 119.5 seconds to pour the perfect pint of Guinness, hence the slogan: ‘Good things come to those who wait.’ The importance of waiting resonates throughout the ad: “And I tell you what: tick followed tock followed tick followed tock…”

Three years later, ‘Surfer’ was voted the best ad of all time in a poll conducted by The SundayTimes and Channel 4.

When we weren’t sipping the black stuff, we were drinking cocktails inspired by a new TV series called Sex and the City, while clubbers, ‘partying like it was 1999’, couldn’t get enough Red Bull – the energy drink that helped them dance until dawn.

Meanwhile, Typhoo looked to the east and became the first tea brand to introduce a green tea blend to the UK market.

There was a new console in town, Sega Dreamcast, keen to knock Sony Playstation from its top spot, with built-in internet access for online gaming and the slogan ‘Up to six billion players’. On its US opening day in September 1999, Sega made $98.4m in combined hardware and software sales. The same year, Sony announced plans for Playstation 2 and in 2000 Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s GameCube were released. By 2001, Sega said it would no longer be making Dreamcast hardware.
 

Newsletter

Enjoy this? Get more.

Our monthly newsletter, The Edit, curates the very best of our latest content including articles, podcasts, video.

CAPTCHA
5 + 6 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Become a member

Not a member yet?

Now it's time for you and your team to get involved. Get access to world-class events, exclusive publications, professional development, partner discounts and the chance to grow your network.