Unveiled last night – a limited edition of Ang Ji Gao (红舌狗) as Guinness Foreign Extra Stout has come to be known locally.
Hokkien for “Red Tongued Dog”, Ang Ji Gao is a reference to the wolf mark placed that has been found on Guinness Singapore edition’s labels since the 1880s. On sale for a period of two months or whilst stocks last, the labels for the limited edition’s bottles and cans will feature a reinterpretation of the red tongued wolf mark. Created by local artist Ben Quek, the mark is being decorated with illustrations of what Ben sees as all things Singaporean. Among the illustrations Singaporeans will identify with are those of the red plastic chair now found in many of Singapore’s coffee shops and one of the most commonly used expressions when it comes to good food and drink, “shiok”.
Presenting the limited edition Ang Ji Gao.
Interestingly, the wolf mark points to the manner in which Guinness first arrived on our shores; not as Guinness but as Blood’s Brand stout in the 1860s distributed by Blood, Wolfe and Company- a Liverpool based bottler.
Branding for the now famous stout had then have been left to bottlers, who also established the distribution networks that gave the stout a worldwide reach. Blood, Wolfe and Company, who had networks that spread to British controlled Southeast Asia and Oceania, re-branded the stout as Wolf Brand in the 1880s using now well recognised red-tongued wolf’s head as its mark. The use of animals would then have been common in trade marks as they allowed for easy identification and recognition by a then largely illiterate populace. The wolf’s head mark had become so identifiable in Singapore that when Guinness reclaimed the distribution and branding of its Foreign Extra Stout in the 1950s, it decided to keep the mark on its labels.
Blood, Wolfe and Company Guinness Stout Neck Label 1896 (source: Guinness Singapore Facebook Page).
The launch of the limited edition also coincides with the production of a coffee table book, for which Guinness has collaborated with Humans of Singapore. Titled “Men of Singapore”, the book features 25 stories of men who embody the values of generousity, authenticity, innovation, courage and supportiveness. The book, which will be made available in the public libraries, will also be given out during promotions and contests on the Guinness Singapore Facebook Page.
Showing at the Projector last evening.
Guinness will also be running promotions during the period with up to $60,000 worth of home furnishing vouchers up for grabs. Under three tabs Simply purchase Guinness Foreign Extra Stout bottles in coffeeshops or cans in supermarkets for a chance to win. More information on this can also be found on the Guinness Singapore Facebook Page.
The Long and Winding Road 