Guinness Power bash

Sep 02, 2003

SANDOR Walusimbi, the brand manager of Guinness, certainly put on a good show last Friday, for the premier of the movie Critical Assignment.

Timothy Bukumune

SANDOR Walusimbi, the brand manager of Guinness, certainly put on a good show last Friday, for the premier of the movie Critical Assignment.

Even the invitation cards were glossy, well designed and impressive enough to keep as a keepsake. Unlike the usual invitation cards sent out on A4 paper, a lot of thought went into making these .

Like all premieres, this one started with a cocktail at The Venue in Garden City, with the usual nibbles - chicken, muchomo, samosas and of course an abundance of drinks – Guinness taking centre stage alongside Uganda Breweries products, various wines and an assortment of soft drinks.

When we were done with that, we descended to Cineplex, a floor below, onto a neatly laid out red carpet with candles along the side. “Just like it is done in Hollywood,” a lady next to me quipped. I could not have summed it up better.

The movie, which stars Michael Powers, was good enough for an African production. The cinematography was excellent though the plot (Powers as an investigative journalist) was a trifle stretched. Not only was his style similar to James Bond, he could even fly a helicopter!

Throughout the movie there was abundance of Guinness product placements that played a major role in the movie.

In just about every scene, there was either a Guinness logo, somebody drinking Guinness or a Guinness truck somewhere in the background.

Although Guinness financed the movie, the ads were just an over-kill. There was word that Michael Powers was around, but this turned out to be a just a hoax.

The guest list included, Martin Aliker the Chairman of the Board of Uganda Breweries and his wife Camille, Peter Sematimba of Super FM, Simon Kaheru from the Vice-President’s office and wife Josephine, Alex Ndawula of Capital FM’s with his better half Drucilla, Henry Rugamba of British American Tobacco, Ronnie Mhadhvani and the Ruparelias along with their daughter Meera.

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