5 St Patrick’s Day campaigns that are pure gold, from Jameson to Jack in the Box
Bushmills, Guinness and other brands are giving their ads the Irish treatment for the greenest holiday of the year.
Jameson is making 'desk decoys' to help workers play hookie on March 17 / Credit: Jameson Irish Whiskey
St Patrick’s Day is upon us, which means brands are hoping their festive ad campaigns will bring them good luck with consumers. From Bushmills’ sheep shenanigans to the world’s first Irish Pub in the metaverse, here are five festive brand campaigns to know about.
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5. Jack in the Box & Mint Mobile mint a milkshake
Burger chain Jack in the Box and Mint Mobile (which T-Mobile is set to acquire for $1.35bn) joined forces to create a limited-edition minty Oreo milkshake called the Mint Mobile Shake. The unlikely pair also created an ad, developed by Reynolds’ own production company Maximum Effort, that sees Reynolds ‘rent out’ a portion of the 15-second spot to Jack in the Box.
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4. Bushmills herds a flock of sheep into a New York bar
So a flock of sheep walk into a bar. No, really. On Monday, 400-year-old whiskey distillery Bushmills walked a flock of sheep into a New York bar in a Mekanism-developed campaign. Each of the four sheep was named after Bushmills’ competitors – Jamo, Johnnie, Jim and Jack – in hopes of telling consumers: “Don’t be a sheep.”
3. Guinness awards the best toastmaster with $1m
Feeling lucky this St Patrick’s Day? Diageo’s Irish stout Guinness has announced a toast contest that will award the most creative St Paddy’s Day toasts with cash prizes of $10,000, and the ultimate toastmaster with $1m.
The campaign also includes a 35-second television spot, titled ’For everyone,’ starring 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and celebrity chef Kwame Onwuachi.
2. The Sandbox opens first-ever metaverse Irish Pub
On March 17, decentralized gaming platform The Sandbox will open the world’s first metaverse Irish pub, the Irish Shebeen, for gamers who are frisky for whiskey.
The virtual pub, developed by Brazilian metaverse experience company Hermit Crab Game Studio, will be live for 12 consecutive days. During that time, gamers can embark on quests for unique collectibles and have the chance to take home a bottle of Kinahan Whiskey.
1. Jameson & Regina Hall celebrate St Patrick’s Day out-of-office
Nobody wants to work on St Patrick’s Day – especially when it falls on a Friday like this year. In an ad for Jameson Irish Whiskey, actress and comedian Regina Hall proposes “S.P.T.O.,“ shorthand for “St Patrick’s Day Time Off.” To pull it off, Hall leaves a decoy of herself in her office desk and heads to the pub.
Consumers can create their own ‘desk decoy’ at www.JamesonSPTO.com for $17.80, the proceeds of which will be donated to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Fund, on top of an additional $25,000 donation from Jameson.
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