With St Patrick’s Day around the corner, Guinness 0.0 is encouraging revellers to make this year’s event one to remember in its biggest-ever responsible drinking campaign to date.

Guinness and St Patrick’s Day have long gone hand-in-hand but this year as festivities kick off across Ireland, Guinness 0.0 is encouraging consumers to try non-alcoholic beer for a more memorable celebration.

The campaign, which has been created with the help of AMV BBDO, aims to communicate a message of moderation and to encourage consumers to try non-alcoholic beer. As part of the campaign Guinness will give away  50,000 pints of Guinness 0.0 over the course of  the St. Patrick’s Day weekend. This marks the brand’s largest-ever sampling of its non-alcoholic beer. Free pints of Guinness 0.0 will be available in over 300 different locations across the country. 

Four participating iconic pub facades will be rebranded into ‘Guinness 0.0 Pubs’ including O’ Donoghues (Merrion Row, Dublin), O’ Connell’s (Eyre Sq, Galway), O’ Sullivans (Douglas, Cork) and Common Market (Belfast) where customers can enjoy a free pint of Guinness 0.0 on March 17^th, as well as in 150 other pubs nationwide via the Any Excuse app where a pint of Guinness 0.0 will be redeemable March 16th-19th. 

Other locations include Dublin Airport on March 17^th & 18^th, Aviva Stadium for people attending the highly anticipated Guinness Six Nations finale, Ireland v England, on 18th March and the Guinness Storehouse, where all guests will receive a complimentary pint of Guinness 0.0. Additionally, in 164 Tesco stores across the Republic of Ireland March 16th-19th. Consumers purchasing a four-pack of Guinness with their Clubcard will receive a free four-pack of Guinness 0.0.

Alongside the nation-wide sampling campaign, Guinness 0.0 has also launched a campaign film that depicts pints of Guinness 0.0 joining in on a chorus of celebration. The film, Singing Pints, created by AMVBBO shows the pints singing along to Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For a Hero”. 

The video will be shown across social media channels, as well as an interactive Snapchat filter which gives users the chance to create singing 0.0 pints of their own.

Sober curious 

“St. Patrick’s Day is one of the key highlights in the social calendar. We are delighted to be championing our non-alcohol beer, Guinness 0.0, in our largest ever responsible drinking campaign in Ireland, and encourage everyone to engage in an enjoyable and responsible way to make it a St. Patrick’s Day to Remember,” explains Alan McAleenan, Brand Director, Guinness Ireland.

The campaign comes at a time when audiences are increasingly taking interest in non-alcoholic beverages, indicative of an increase in ‘sober curious’ audiences. In Pinterest’s latest Pinterest Predicts report, the platform identified a ‘Free Spirit' trend that showed people have grown tired of being judged for not drinking alcohol. These consumers  are seeking more control over when and how they drink. More low-alcohol and alcohol-free options are allowing audiences control over their drinking habits.

The Guinness 0.0 St Patrick’s Day campaign is able to promote responsible drinking while maintaining a strong hold on the brand's Irish heritage. A compelling example of how the drinks  industry is able to progress forward and keep in step with changing consumer needs.