There’s a saying among brethren, “If she doesn’t know Michael Power then she’s too young for you bro”. Okay, maybe I made that up. Growing up this guy was the sh*t, the urine and the fart. If you needed someone badass who could battle with tornadoes you got Michael Power: Africa’s James Bond.
Michael Power came about as Guinness were looking for a figure that would traverse through all African cultures. In the adverts, Michael Power goes on a journey through Africa to celebrate the inner strengths of Africans – the pulse and rhythm of their music, their passion and love of football, and their grit and determination. The adverts, averaging three to five minutes in length, placed Power in various action scenarios, where his resourcefulness and virility allow him to escape from danger or rescue the damsel in dsitress.
Michael Power became so popular that a full feature movie, Critical Assignment, was made for him.
Diageo, owner of the Guinness brand, cancelled the Michael Power campaign in 2006. They replaced it with the “Guinness Greatness” campaign, which they claim emphasises the “drop of greatness” in everyone, in contrast to the high-tension heroics of the Power character