funny, and slightly OT tidbid about the current US guinness ads...
i sat in on a focus group for some extra $$$ several months back. they screened us the "mockup" ads for the new guinness ad campaign- explaining that before they made the final version they would storyboard it with paper cutouts and VO. after we saw a few versions, i mentioned that i thought that the ad might be funnier exactly as it was, rather than with live actors, etc. the group leader asked the rest of the group, and got the same response. he said that we were not the first to say that- other groups in other cities said the same thing. they thought it was unusual, and would have never considered running the "mockup" ads as they were.
a few months later, i saw the exact same "mockup" ads they had shown us in the focus group on tv. funny, and doubtless a cost savings for someone.
ed