When I lived in the United Kingdom back in 1995 this tv commercial for Guinness was screening in the U.K and Ireland. It took the drinking public by storm. I remember the catchy “da-na-na” sound track being played in numerous pubs (often at closing time at 11pm) and witnessing many happy punters attempting to do the dance. This commercial had huge cut-thru. It had no voice-over and a single-minded focus.

The actor performing the dance is Dubliner Joe McKinney. He shot to fame rapidly with this exposure and in the end left Ireland for New York. He told Ireland’s Independent newspaper at the time “I’m not knocking it, it’s a great country, but there was only so much I could take. There’s a million people in Dublin and they all say ‘Da-na-na’ once (usually behind my back at a distance), and there’s only one of me, so that’s a million times and it’s a f—ing headwreck.”

Nigel

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