Jameson to drop Times Square Ball for St. Patrick’s Eve

Dive Brief:

• Jameson Irish Whiskey, a Pernod Ricard brand, launched a marketing push this week to introduce St. Patrick’s Eve, a new holiday taking place on Saturday, March 16, the day before the traditional St. Patrick’s Day holiday on March 17, according to a press release.
• To encourage consumers to move their celebrations to Saturday, when they can enjoy themselves without worrying about work the next morning, the brand has planned a experiential activation in New York that will include dropping the Times Square Ball. The brand will also have a presence in other major cities. 
• The effort includes digital videos featuring “Saturday Night Live” stars Colin Jost and Michael Che, marking the first time the two comedians, who regularly appear together in skits, have paired up on a brand partnership. The duo will also host the Times Square event. 

Dive Insight:

St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally a big day for beer and alcohol sales but this year the holiday falls on a Sunday, which the folks at Jameson are suggesting could put a damper on celebrations. The brand, which often focuses on its Ireland connection in its marketing, has a plan for how to compensate for any potential loss of sales — for itself and for bars and restaurants — by encouraging consumers to move their celebrations to the night before.

To mark St. Patrick’s Eve, Jameson will drop the Times Square Ball at 8 p.m. EST on March 16, which is midnight in Ireland. The whiskey brand claims to be one of the first brands to drop the ball in honor of a new holiday. The Jameson St. Patrick’s Eve celebration in New York will be co-hosted by Jost and Che and will feature a surprise DJ performance. Consumers can visit JamesonSPE.com to enter for a chance to get on the guest list. 

To encourages celebrations across the country, the brand will also light up the Las Vegas Sphere in Jameson Green and wrap the ferries and water taxis in the Chicago River, which is dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day. A takeover of the L.A. Live entertainment complex is also planned. 

To promote the holiday digitally, Jost and Che star in a series of humorous videos. In one, Jost laments to Che how St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday this year because it’s a leap year. Che responds by saying “days are just a suggestion” and you “can’t let a calendar control your life.” Jost decides to celebrate St. Patrick’s Eve, before jokingly asking, “I don’t work on Saturday, right?” in reference to his spot on SNL.

The whiskey brand is also releasing a special jacket, which retails for $150, for the campaign. Drops of 50 will take place weekly from Feb. 20 to March 12, with all proceeds benefiting the Restaurant Workers’ Community Fund. The overall St. Patrick’s Eve effort is part of Jameson’s ongoing “Must be a Jameson” campaign.

Jameson has routinely activated around St. Patrick’s Day. Last year, the whiskey brand developed “desk decoys” to encourage consumers to take St. Patrick’s Day off and enjoy a long weekend. The holiday remains an important day for Irish whiskey consumption and Jameson has been the dominant choice in America for years. However, competitors such as Tullamore D.E.W. and Proper No. Twelve have started to gain market share in recent years.