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Jameson Irish Whiskey is not letting the fact that it’s a Leap Year get in the way of having its first proper Saturday St. Patrick’s Day celebration in years.
In fact, the brand brought in Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost and Michael Che to spread the word about “St. Patrick’s Eve,” a totally made-up holiday for revelers who reserve their Sundays for “cold plunges.” The campaign marks the duo’s first joint brand partnership.
In a series of fun videos created by Jameson’s new agency of record, Ogilvy, and directed by Micah Perta for Steve Unlimited, the comedians and Weekend Update hosts’ chemistry is on full display. While Jost agonizes over the pesky extra day denying him the chance to show his holiday spirit during “the best day of the week,” declaring that celebrating on a Sunday is “so mid, it’s cringe,” Che falls in step as his fun-loving foil, occasional enabler and exasperated voice of reason.
“I don’t believe in leap years, which is why I’m several days late for every appointment,” Jost said in a statement. “But for all you sheep who trust ‘Big Calendar’ and think February ‘sometimes’ has an extra day, we’ve gotten you off the hook by inventing a new holiday, St. Patrick’s Eve. And like I keep yelling at my family and therapist, ‘This isn’t just an excuse to party on Saturday as well as Sunday. It’s a real holiday.’”
“Colin is also probably a little relieved we’re going to spend a Saturday night ringing in St. Patrick’s Eve with Jameson, instead of reading the jokes I write for him,” Che added.
The campaign continues the Pernod Ricard brand’s debut global campaign, “Must Be a Jameson,” which launched last year and highlighted an unflappable protagonist “smooth as Jameson Whiskey,” who never lets a mishap deter him from enjoying the moment.
“Our ‘Must be a Jameson’ campaign honors a community anchored by their shared lighthearted spirit, so when Leap Year skipped over a Saturday St. Patrick’s Day, we did exactly what a Jameson would do: We created a completely new holiday so people can start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day a little early,” Johan Radojewski, vice president of marketing for Jameson Irish Whiskey, said in a statement.