Michael Power

Why it works

Michael Power, an impeccably dressed action hero of no specified African nationality, foils villains and saves the day in mini-adventures several minutes long, then unwinds with a Guinness. Created by Saatchi & Saatchi for Guinness's African markets from the turn of the century, the films gave the whole continent one recurring hero, and Power became so famous that he appeared in character on billboards, in bars and at events. It is studied as an early case of advertising turning into entertainment: in 2003 Guinness financed a feature film, Critical Assignment, starring Power, which its producer said took as much at the Kenyan box office as the James Bond film of the time. Saatchi says the campaign lifted Guinness sales volumes by up to 50 per cent in some markets between 1998 and 2004, and academics have since examined the aspirational, colonial-tinged masculinity it sold.