When Diageo selected Eriskay, a remote Scottish isle with a population of around 140, as the location for its global campaign to mark its partnership with the Premier League, it was not the first corporation to tap the marketing power of the tiny island in the Outer Hebrides.
Recent media campaigns have tended to focus on the local community’s strong connection to soccer, with the challenging conditions on their pitch proving particularly visually exciting for directors.
The most recent ad campaign by AMV BBDO “aims to resonate with audiences globally, based on the romance of soccer’s roots beyond the commercialism of major leagues.” Brands SkyBet and Umbro have previously shot ads on the isle using the local team’s stone-pocked soccer pitch as a storyline.
Eriskay is already famous for the Eriskay pony, a sturdy breed with a dense, waterproof coat that features in the Guinness ad, and the Eriskay jersey, made without any seams.
In culture it is associated with the famous song “Bheir mé óró, bhean ó,” known in the Hebridean collections at the Eriskay Love Lilt It is also known for the poetry of 1890s parish priest Allan MacDonald and for a shiprweck that inspired Whiskey Galore, when the SS Politician ran aground off the island’s coast in 1941 with a cargo fo whiskey which was purloined by the islanders The pub which features in the Guinness ad is named the Politician, after the shipwreck.
In history it is famous as the landing place on 2 August 1745 of Bonny Prince Charlie (the beach is still known aqs Coilleag a’ Phrionnsa) and his entourage, the Seven Men of Moidart, of which four came from Ireland, George Kelly from Roscommon,John MacDonald from Antrim, Thomas Sheridan from Meath and John William O’Sullivan from Kenmare.
Eriskay is reached by ferry from Barra, a 40 minute journey. Logainair fly to Barra airport, unique in the world for using a tidal beach as a runway.
Guinness has returned to its storied island ad roots with the Eriskay campaign. An iconic 1977 add used brief scenes shot on Inisheer for their “The Island/Tá Sé ag Teacht‘[ campaign The indoor scenes were not shot in either of the island’s two pubs at the time.
A rugby themed campaign in 2017 used Inishturk in Mayo, population 50, as a background theme, by ad school: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Inishturk does not have a rugby team, unlike the Eriskay soccer team which competes in the six-team Uist & Barra League, although the island has a GAA team.
