Redbreast is one of the world’s most celebrated whiskeys, with a slew of awards under their… uh, wings. Despite its reputation among connoisseurs, Redbreast wanted to connect with a wider, younger audience.
The challenge wasn’t just visibility—it was tone. How do you speak with credibility about quality and craft, while remaining warm, humble, and unmistakably Irish?
Working with The Public House, I helped to develop a new creative approach: one that would give the brand’s iconic robin a voice, and let the product speak for itself—literally. From scriptwriting to animation planning, we shaped a bold, personality-driven campaign that flew in the face of category norms and gave Redbreast a new way to express its character.
Agency: The Public House, Dublin
Client: Midleton Distillery
Brand: Redbreast
Industry: Alcohol, Beverage, Advertising
Project Type: Brand expansion, animation, tone of voice, social and digital
Role: Concept development, voice creation, comedy writing, scriptwriting
Key Outcomes: New brand spokesperson, high audience engagement, tone-of-voice evolution for a prestige brand
Getting the rare charm of the brand to a new audience, without losing touch of its humble and fun-loving Irish roots. Redbreast needed to connect with a younger, broader audience—without losing its credibility or charm. The brand had a clear story to tell, but it lacked a distinctive voice to carry it. The challenge was to personify the brand without alienating its loyal customer base or watering down its premium image.
Bringing the iconic robin from their world-famous label to life. By creating a cheeky, witty character, we made a campaign that felt fresh, fun, and true to Redbreast’s Irish roots. Our scripts leaned on dry humour, self-awareness, and a quiet confidence—reflecting the sensibility of the brand’s most loyal fans while welcoming newcomers with open wings. Animation gave us the flexibility to build a recognisable visual world, one that could scale across social, digital, and broadcast.
• The campaign introduced Redbreast to a younger demographic without alienating core fans
• High engagement rates on social media and video platforms
• Helped evolve the brand’s tone of voice and narrative toolkit
• Sparked conversations and shares in markets where Redbreast had lower visibility
• Character and tone development
• Comedy scriptwriting
• Messaging and narrative strategy
• Creative consultation on animation and direction
• Brand storytelling
Alcohol advertising comes with strict legal and cultural limitations—especially when working across international markets. The creative had to be cheeky but never flippant, confident but never boastful.
We navigated these constraints by rooting everything in Redbreast’s established credibility, then carefully stretching the brand into new tonal territory. The result: a campaign that stood out for all the right reasons, and gave Redbreast a long-term asset to build on.
Freelance copywriter working with agencies, brands and startups.
