So, we were wondering what the Guinness Toucan was all about. Sara found this explanation.
“In regards to your inquiry, the Guinness Toucan – probably Guinness advertising’s most recognizable icon – began life as a pelican. In 1935, John Gilroy (the artist responsible for most of the early Guinness advertising), put together some initial sketches for the “Guinness A Day” campaign featuring a pelican balancing seven pints of Guinness on it’s beak, together with this tentative copy:
“A wonderful bird the pelican, its bill can hold more than its belly
can. It can hold in its beak enough for a week: I simply don’t know how the hell
he can.”
This clumsy verse was rejected by the ad agency copywriter who then
changed the bird into a Toucan, with a pun in mind for the ad. The pun was:
“If a Guinness a day is good for you, imagine what Toucan (two can)
do!”
The ad just took a life of it’s own and since then the Toucan has
become an Icon for Guinness.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact
us.
Once again, thank you for contacting Guinness.
Sincerely,
Josh M.
Guinness Consumer Representative