Michael Power

Instead of having Power deliver a straightforward sales pitch, Saatchi & Saatchi starred him as the hero of a series of mini-adventures on radio and television. The adverts, averaging three to five minutes in length, place Power in various action scenarios, where his resourcefulness and virility allow him to escape from danger or rescue the damsel in distress. Beginning in 2002, other adverts have featured the character in more domestic scenarios, such as attending a surprise party or guiding taxi cabs to illuminate a street festival with their headlights. His catchphrase, "Guinness brings out the power in you!" thus casts the beer in the same positive light as the strong, virile, triumphant hero..

The films are popular with African television stations, who air them as free programming. Power and the campaign that surrounds him are also notable because the advertisements are shot on location in Africa using African actors and crews. Mitchell himself commented (as Power), "We are focusing on stories that bring the true strength of Africa. We want to highlight the way we live, the way we talk, the way we play and the way we do everything that makes us unique as Africans."

The campaign worked. Guinness led the African beer market by 50% in 2000. Brand recognition reached a reported 95%, and volume growth rose up to 50% in some markets. Guinness sales doubled by 2003, two years ahead of schedule. Power's face is now one of the most recognisable in Africa, as it adorns billboards, cardboard standees, posters, and television advertisements in African countries where Guinness is sold. Mitchell, dressed all in black, makes numerous personal appearances as Power each year, visiting television and radio stations, newspapers, and Guinness breweries and distributors. His fame is such that his appearances receive extensive news coverage, and many news services do not realize that he is merely a fictional character. Guinness does its best to hide this fact and has even constructed a detailed public persona for the character: He is in his mid-30s, single, was born in Africa, but was raised and educated in the United States. Consequently, many Africans speculate wildly about Power's country and village of origin. He answers questions with sloganlike ambiguity: "Nigerians should always believe in themselves . . . . They should hang in there and always believe that our best days are always ahead of us. Never give up on your dreams". When questioned about his background, the actor gives vague answers such as "I am a man of Africa". One admirer in Douala remarked, "He makes us feel that we too can do things that other people can admire."

In 2003, Guinness took this campaign to a new level with the film Critical Assignment (French: Engagement critique). Mitchell, credited as Michael Power, stars as the Power character on a mission to stop a corrupt African politician from buying weapons with money stolen from government water projects. Assignment is a typical action film, although its use of African locations, actors, and crews is a rarity in big-budget films of the genre. According to Frank, it is "the largest Pan-African marketing initiative ever undertaken by Guinness Africa".

In 2002, Guinness applied the Michael Power formula to Asia with the character Adam King.

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