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 noitulovE ( " Evolution " backwards ) is a British television and cinema advertisement launched by Diageo in 2005 to promote Guinness <unk> stout . The 60 @-@ second piece formed the cornerstone of a £ 15 million advertising campaign targeting men in their late twenties and early thirties . The commercial shows , in reverse , the adventures of three characters who evolve from mudskippers to present day humans before tasting Guinness in a London pub . The commercial was handled by the advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO , with a budget of £ <unk> It was directed by Daniel Kleinman . Production was contracted to Kleinman Productions , with post @-@ production by <unk> <unk> . It premiered on British television on 3 October 2005 . 
 noitulovE is the fifth television / cinema piece in the Good things come to those who wait series , and its premiere marked the end of a four @-@ year hiatus . The advert and its associated campaign were a critical and financial success . It received over 30 awards from professional organisations in the advertising and television industries , and was the most @-@ awarded commercial worldwide in 2006 . The impact of the campaign was such that during a period in which the UK beer market experienced a substantial decline in revenue , Guinness reported that its year @-@ on @-@ year earnings within the region had noticeably increased . At the same time , Guinness achieved its highest @-@ ever volume and value shares and became the market leader within the region . This was attributed in no small part to the positive reception of noitulovE . 
 
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 The piece begins with three patrons taking their first sip of Guinness in a London pub . To the accompaniment of Sammy Davis , Jr . ' s rendition of " The Rhythm of Life " from the 1969 film version of the 1966 Broadway musical Sweet Charity , a reverse @-@ motion sequence begins . The three men retreat from the bar and into the street , other patrons disappearing as they pass . As they move down the street , a reverse time @-@ lapse @-@ style sequence transforms their clothes to match a rapidly changing urban scene , which progresses through modern @-@ day London to the <unk> period . Electric lights transform into gas lamps and buildings begin to disappear frame by frame . A short cutaway sequence shows the city <unk> into the past , shrinking to a small Saxon settlement before disappearing entirely . Returning to the main sequence , the three men 's clothes and hairstyles are adjusted into Bronze Age equivalents as they pass through <unk> woodland . A close @-@ up of one of the characters shows his features quickly transformed into those of a <unk> . The trio are then frozen in an ice age glacier . 
 The three re @-@ emerge from the glacier as primitive <unk> , their clothes ripped away to reveal <unk> . They continue to walk backwards with a more <unk> gait , and soon turn into <unk> . From there , they are transformed into a number of different species in quick succession , including flying squirrels , <unk> mammals , aquatic mammals , fish , flightless birds , small dinosaurs , and burrowing lizard @-@ like creatures . The environment around them changes rapidly as they travel , with <unk> showing millions of years of geological changes occurring in less than a few seconds . Finally , the three become mudskippers around a green @-@ brown puddle . The action briefly moves forward again to show the middle character registering his disgust at the taste of the water with a " <unk> ! " sound . The commercial ends with a transition to a product shot of three <unk> of Guinness accompanied by the strapline " Good things come to those who wait " . 
 
 = = Production = = 
 
 
 = = = Background = = = 
 
 Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO won the account for Guinness in 1996 with a campaign built on their new strapline " Good things come to those who wait " . They produced several commercials using variations on the theme , including <unk> , Bet on Black , and the critically acclaimed Surfer , voted the " Best <unk> of All Time " by the British public in 2002 . After the 2001 <unk> advertisements , Diageo , the corporate owners of Guinness , decided to pursue a more pan @-@ European marketing strategy . The strapline proved difficult to translate , and was abandoned . Several new <unk> were tried out over the next three years , including " Believe " ( Free and Tom <unk> ) and " A story of darkness and light " ( Moth and Mustang ) . 
 The new marketing strategy did not prove particularly successful , and in 2004 Diageo returned to regional advertising . <unk> BBDO were presented with the choice of coming up with either a new theme to appeal to the 18 – 35 British male demographic or a new angle on the tried and tested Good things ... concept . A number of ideas were put forward , including " The <unk> <unk> " . From this concept , noitulovE was quickly plotted out : the advert would show three individuals waiting 500 @,@ 000 @,@ 000 years before finally taking their first sip of Guinness , the timeline compressed into a 50 @-@ second clip . The decision to run the " Evolution sequence " in reverse was taken fairly early , as it was felt that it would better hold viewers ' interest during a 60 @-@ second television spot . 
 
 = = = Pre @-@ production = = = 
 
 The project had not yet been <unk> when the agency approached Daniel Kleinman , known for his work on James Bond title sequences , with the intention of taking him on as a director . After looking over the concept pitch and a rough draft of the script , Kleinman 's immediate impressions were that the idea was " fresh " , " an opportunity to try out some new techniques " , and that it would " put Guinness back on track , doing a big ' <unk> ' idea " . 
 Kleinman contacted a pair of Canadian graphic novel artists to begin the <unk> process . <unk> the commercial meant that the agency could determine how much of the £ <unk> budget to <unk> to each section , and provided them with visuals to use as part of the presentation to Diageo when pitching the various concepts for a decision on which to pursue . The effort paid off and approval was given to move ahead with production . 
 
 = = = Production = = = 
 
 Production of the commercial took place over two months , with principal photography shot in Iceland . Time @-@ lapse photographs were taken of the country 's <unk> , volcanic terrain and frozen lakes using 35 mm film cameras . The shooting was done in the early summer for the nearly continuous daylight that the season afforded them . The next pieces of the commercial to be assembled were the live @-@ action segments , shot in a <unk> studio in London . Filming was done in three stages , with the three actors changing into different sets of prosthetic makeup at each stage . For the final section the actors spent a week <unk> the choreography behind walking backwards with an appropriately <unk> gait . <unk> were attached to the back of each actor , allowing them to lean forwards to give the impression that they were being " sucked back in time " when the final cut was put together . While filming the actor sequences , VFX supervisor William Bartlett filmed the aerial view of London from Tower 42 's Vertigo bar . 
 With computer @-@ generated imagery looking to make up so much of the commercial , Kleinman attempted to use film of real elements wherever possible . To this end , 200 mudskippers were brought to the studio from South Africa for the final scene , arriving via Singapore . An entire afternoon was set aside for filming the <unk> sequence . The footage obtained formed the major part of the final cut of the scene , with only one or two post @-@ production changes : the addition of tail fins and animation of the expression of disgust that closes the piece . Stop motion footage of other real elements was taken , including a stage @-@ by @-@ stage <unk> of plants , used to show flora coming back to life in the reverse sequence , and shots of baking bread , used to model the geological changes to background rock formations . Additional real elements were to have been incorporated into the commercial , mostly from stock footage of several animal species , but only short segments of <unk> and lizards appeared in the final cut . 
 
 = = = Post @-@ production = = = 
 
 Post @-@ production work was handled mostly by <unk> <unk> , who had worked on previous Guinness campaigns Surfer and <unk> , and had worked with Daniel Kleinman on a number of outside projects , including several commercials and James Bond title sequences . The project was overseen by William Bartlett , known for his visual effects work on the BBC television documentary Walking with Dinosaurs . The original schedule allowed for three and a half months in post @-@ production , with airing of the commercial to follow almost immediately . 
 The 24 @-@ man animation team was split into two groups . Half were assigned to the creation of the 15 new CGI creatures <unk> noitulovE ( in Maya ) , while the other half created the backgrounds ( in <unk> ) . <unk> work – combining the <unk> shots with stock footage and CGI elements – was performed in Flame and Inferno . As the final commercial was to be shown on cinema screens , the animators worked at a resolution higher than that afforded by the <unk> definition used by British <unk> @-@ encoded television sets , to improve the appearance of the advert when projected . 
 Near the end of post @-@ production , the creative team decided that the music chosen to accompany the advert , an electronic track by Groove <unk> , was not working particularly well . Peter Raeburn , who had chosen the track used in Surfer ( <unk> 's " <unk> Planet " ) , was brought on as music director . Raeburn suggested three pieces , with " Rhythm of Life " ultimately presented to Guinness as an alternative and approved as a replacement . 
 
 = = Release and reception = = 
 
 
 = = = Schedule = = = 
 
 noitulovE was originally to have begun its run in September 2005 , but the <unk> was pushed back several weeks as post @-@ production took longer than anticipated . As had been the case with several earlier campaigns , the commercial was to air in several bursts , throughout 2005 and 2006 . <unk> were purchased in the commercial breaks of sports broadcasts , high @-@ budget television dramas and shows whose primary audience overlapped with the campaign 's target demographic of British males in the 24 – 35 age range . The first burst was commissioned to run from 3 October to 13 November 2005 , during programming such as the UEFA Champions League , Lost , Vincent , <unk> and Dec 's Saturday Night <unk> and terrestrial television screenings of Austin Powers : <unk> . 
 The second burst lasted through December . The focus moved to <unk> television , with appearances in live televised football matches , films , and popular programming such as I 'm a Celebrity , Get Me Out of Here ! . Two further bursts were commissioned for 2006 , to run from 15 May to 9 June and 22 August to 8 October . Programmes selected for the May – June burst included Celebrity X Factor , Big Brother and live football and cricket matches . The final series of spots ran during programming totalling 56 ratings points per week ( 56 % of British television viewers ) , with much of the budget assigned to <unk> television . 
 
 = = = Awards = = = 
 
 noitulovE was well received by critics within the advertising and television industries , and was predicted to win the 2006 Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix , one of the advertising industry 's highest awards . Advertising Age said of the piece : " A flawless <unk> production to an irresistible piece of music <unk> a brilliant , <unk> witty new iteration of a longstanding , unique positioning . This isn 't just great advertising ; it is perfect advertising . " <unk> <unk> , Executive Creative Director for Del <unk> <unk> <unk> & <unk> remarked on the campaign in the run @-@ up to the festival , saying " noitulovE is , in my opinion , the best . [ ... ] This execution is absolutely incredible , as is the production . " The main competition for the prize was thought to be the Australian Big Ad for Carlton draught beer , and the British <unk> , for Sony 's <unk> line of high definition television sets . After the three received Gold Lions in the Film category , they were shortlisted by the judges as contenders for the Grand Prix . Ultimately , the honour went to noitulovE . After the decision , David <unk> , president of the jury which determined the outcome , said " It 's a very very strong ad . A lot of the jurors felt that it was not only a stand @-@ alone , remarkable ad , but also a triumphant return for a fabulous campaign . " The victory placed director Daniel Kleinman at Number 29 in The Independent 's list of the Top 50 <unk> of 2006 . 
 The 2006 edition of the <unk> Report , an authoritative annual publication determining the advertising industry 's most critically successful campaigns , revealed that noitulovE had received more awards that year than any other campaign worldwide . Among the awards were three <unk> , two Golden <unk> , and the Special Jury Prize at the <unk> Awards . 
 The ad was also a hit with the public . It has been credited by Guinness as being responsible for the substantial boost in sales experienced by the brand during the period in which it was broadcast . While revenues within the UK beer market declined by an average of − 0 @.@ 4 % ( − £ <unk> ) , the year @-@ on @-@ year figures for Guinness showed an increase of 3 @.@ 6 % ( + £ <unk> ) . Between October 2005 and October 2006 , Guinness achieved its highest ever volume ( 6 @.@ 8 % ) and value ( 7 @.@ 4 % ) shares , taking the position of market leader from Stella <unk> . Diageo attributed the growth in no small part to the positive reception garnered by noitulovE . 
 
 = = = Legacy = = = 
 
 As one of the most recognisable British television advertisements of 2006 , noitulovE was one of two commercials ( the other being Sony 's <unk> ) to feature in a £ <unk> campaign launched by Digital UK to raise awareness of the imminent <unk> within the UK from <unk> to digital television . New versions of the two adverts were produced , showing the first few seconds of the original spot before being interrupted by " <unk> Al " , an animated spokesman for the campaign . 
 In 2004 , Guinness launched a retrospective television advertising campaign promoting Guinness Extra Cold stout , featuring new ten @-@ second versions of commercials broadcast between 1984 and 2004 . These included Mars ( with <unk> <unk> reprising his role as the " Pure Genius " ) , <unk> , Fish Bicycle , Surfer , and Bet on <unk> noitulovE joined the campaign in 2006 , and was the only piece to receive more than one new version . In the first of these , the patrons are <unk> only seconds after taking their first sip of Guinness in a glacier identical to the one which appeared half @-@ way through the original spot . In the second , the sea through which the three fish bound backwards in the original spot is frozen while the trio are in mid @-@ leap , leaving the characters <unk> across the surface . In the final version , the <unk> pool at the end of the original spot freezes while the mudskippers are taking their drink , and the protagonists ' <unk> are left stuck in the ice . 
 When noitulovE was first proposed , it was the only pitch revisiting the Good things come to those who wait campaign , as , according to <unk> Ian <unk> , both <unk> BBDO and Diageo " didn 't think [ they ] could do something good enough to warrant following on from Surfer and the like . " However , following the success of noitulovE , three additional commercials have been aired within the Good Things ... campaign : <unk> , Hands , and <unk> Point ( Guinness ' most expensive advertising campaign to date ) . 
 
 