Ah yes, Guinness. The sacred pint. The foamy black altar at which hipsters, dads, and office lads with “one quick after work” intentions all worship. It’s not just beer. It’s the beer. It’s not even beer, really — it’s a lifestyle choice with a thick white head and just enough bitterness to remind you life’s not always fair.
So naturally, Aldi — the budget temple of discount detergents, mystery meats, and suspiciously familiar-looking candy bars — has decided to swagger into the stout ring with Mulligan’s. Because what the world really needed was a knock-off Guinness, right?
And here’s the kicker: apparently, Mulligan’s might even taste better. Oh, and it’s 76p cheaper per four-pack. Aldi is basically walking up to Diageo, flicking them on the forehead, and saying, “Come at me, bro.”
But according to Andrew Tindall of System1 — a man who knows both marketing theory and stout foam density — Aldi’s new stunt is less about beer and more about whether marketing itself still matters. His thesis? If Guinness can’t survive this assault, then decades of brand building, hundreds of millions in ads, and every “good things come to those who wait” slogan might as well have been poured down the drain.
So let’s pop the tab on this existential stout-off.
Mulligan’s: The Aldi Special
Aldi doesn’t invent. Aldi imitates. You know this. You’ve seen it. Walk into any aisle and it’s like stepping into the uncanny valley of groceries.
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Colin the Caterpillar? Nah mate, we’ve got Cuthbert.
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Pampers? Say hello to Mamia.
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Red Bull? Please enjoy Flying Power, guaranteed to give you wings and maybe heart palpitations.
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BrewDog IPA? Aldi’s version doesn’t bark, but it still bites.
And now? Guinness. Except it’s not Guinness. It’s Mulligan’s — which is perhaps the most Aldi name imaginable. A mulligan is a do-over in golf, which is fitting because this feels like Aldi’s 347th attempt to troll a major brand.
At £4.99 a four-pack, Mulligan’s is positioned as the “better tasting, cheaper Guinness.” Which, if true, is both hilarious and terrifying. Hilarious because Aldi loves chaos. Terrifying because if consumers start saying, “Yeah this tastes just as good, but cheaper,” the marketing gods might start weeping into their pints.
Why Taste Doesn’t Matter (Apparently)
Here’s where Andrew Tindall takes us into marketing wonk territory. He says taste doesn’t drive success. Nope. You could have liquid gold in a can, and if the brand isn’t right, you’re sunk.
This is where crossmodal correspondence struts in — that very fancy term which basically means “the context changes the taste.” Drinks taste different depending on glass shape, location, and what brand name is plastered on the can.
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Wine on holiday in Tuscany? Divine.
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The same bottle back home in a rainy suburb? Tastes like vinegar.
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Guinness poured in Dublin? Nectar of the gods.
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Guinness poured in a plastic cup at your cousin’s barbecue? Sadness in liquid form.
So Mulligan’s can claim to be smoother, richer, or brewed by leprechauns in heaven itself — but unless it can hijack Guinness’s branding halo, it’ll always be the Aldi knock-off stout your uncle bought because “it was 76p cheaper, ya tight sod.”
Guinness: Marketing’s Golden Child
Guinness isn’t just a beer. It’s a masterclass in branding.
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The Ads: From the surfer with white horses to the epic slow-motion pours, Guinness ads are legendary. They don’t sell beer. They sell mythology.
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The Rituals: Every pour takes precisely 119.5 seconds, which is just long enough to convince you that the waiting is part of the experience.
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The Culture: Rugby, football, Six Nations, pub culture, Irish identity — Guinness has woven itself into the fabric of social drinking.
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The Consistency: The brand barely changes. It doesn’t need to. The pint itself is the campaign.
This is why Guinness is the UK’s most popular pint. And why, in theory, Mulligan’s doesn’t stand a chance.
The Existential 76p
But here’s the scary bit. What if that 76p discount actually is enough?
We’re living in a cost-of-living crisis. Energy bills have ballooned, rent is crushing, and people are cutting corners. If Aldi can swoop in and say, “Hey, same vibe, cheaper price,” then Guinness is suddenly forced to confront a horrifying possibility: maybe people really will ditch years of brand loyalty for some change back in their pocket.
Andrew Tindall’s nightmare scenario:
If Aldi’s Mulligan’s succeeds, we’d all have to relearn marketing from scratch.
Translation: If Guinness gets kneecapped by a supermarket knock-off, every brand manager in the world might as well update their CVs and start stacking shelves at Aldi.
Academics With Pints
Of course, no marketing debate is complete without some academic handbags at dawn. Enter Byron Sharp, Les Binet, and the eternal “does marketing really affect price sensitivity” brawl.
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Byron Sharp: Marketing doesn’t change price sensitivity, stop being delusional.
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Les Binet: Marketing absolutely changes price sensitivity, here’s a shrine of case studies to prove it.
Tindall sides with Binet, because of course he does. The Guinness brand has spent decades proving that people will happily pay extra for the “black stuff.” If Aldi’s 76p undercut proves him wrong, then Byron Sharp can stand outside Guinness HQ with a smug grin and a sign reading: Told you so.
Aldi’s Copycat Playbook
Aldi has been running the same cheeky strategy for years:
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Find a beloved product.
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Create a lookalike version that toes the legal line.
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Undercut the price.
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Watch chaos unfold.
Sometimes it works. Most of the time? The original survives. Nobody thinks “Mamia” when they think diapers. Nobody orders “Flying Power” at the bar. And I guarantee nobody has ever uttered the words, “Bring Cuthbert the Caterpillar to the wedding.”
So chances are Guinness will swat Mulligan’s away like an annoying gnat. Still, Aldi knows what it’s doing. Even if Mulligan’s doesn’t topple Guinness, it will sell plenty on curiosity alone. And Aldi will pat itself on the back for another brand troll well executed.
Why Mulligan’s Must Fail
Here’s the thing. For marketing’s sake, Mulligan’s has to fail. Not because Guinness deserves to be untouchable. Not because Aldi shouldn’t win once in a while. But because if it does succeed, the entire profession of marketing collapses in on itself like a dying star.
If a brand as iconic as Guinness can’t hold off a 76p cheaper copycat, then:
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Brand equity is meaningless.
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Emotional advertising is pointless.
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Sponsorships, rituals, salience — all a giant con.
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Every marketing agency might as well shut up shop and go sell Aldi hummus.
Guinness is marketing’s last line of defense. If Mulligan’s dethrones it, then Byron Sharp becomes the grim reaper of the industry, and Les Binet has to set his shrine on fire.
Final Sip
So let’s be brutally honest. Aldi will sell a ton of Mulligan’s because people are curious, people are broke, and people love Aldi’s cheeky trolling. But long-term? Guinness isn’t going anywhere.
Because drinking Guinness isn’t about the taste. It’s about the feeling. The branding. The ritual. The fact that you’re holding the pint that has been marketed into myth.
Mulligan’s is just a beer. Guinness is a religion.
And if Aldi thinks it can start a stout reformation with a 76p discount, then for marketing’s sake, let us pray to the foamy gods that it fails.