DIRECT CHOICE: Guinness

The trouble is, most of these Christmas mailings turn me off, as you know that all the senders are after is your money. The exception to this, however, is the mailing I received from Guinness. Arriving in a stylish black box, it invited me to 'Put the magic back into Christmas'.

Inside, it says 'Guinness always does the trick' and there is a book of magic tricks to help you entertain your friends. Each trick has an appropriate Guinness-style name, such as 'The Star Will Rise in the Yeast', and requires a drop or two of the black stuff as part of the 'equipment'.

As an extra flourish, there is an ingenious magic wand which springs into shape when you take it out of the box. Fantastic.

I know that, like the rest, all it wants me to do is stock up with its product over Christmas, but in this case I don't actually mind.

It's picked up on the spirit of fun and given me something that can enhance my celebrations.

I've already added Guinness to my Christmas list.

This article was first published on Marketing