Guinness Time

Colour lithograph advertising poster promoting Guinness. Designed by the artist John Gilroy the poster depicts a glass of Guinness with a face drawn on the frothy top and a clock face beside. Below is a two stanza verse extolling the virtues of Guinness.

This poster was designed by the commercial artist John Gilroy for the advertising agency S H Benson Ltd. Gilroy began working for Benson’s in 1925. As well as designing posters for Guinness he also worked on campaigns for Skipper Sardines, Bovril, Macleans and Coleman's mustard.

In 1928 Benson's advertising agency won the prestigious Guinness Brewery account. To build an image for the popular drink, director Oswald Green employed a simple research method: he visited pubs and asked people why they drank Guinness. The answer was invariably 'because it's good for you', and so the famous phrase was born. As the company's in-house illustrator and later art director, John Gilroy created Guinness's hallmark artwork. A Royal College of Art graduate, Gilroy went on to produce nearly 50 poster designs for Guinness over the next 35 years.