Ah, those cunning marketers!

While browsing one of my favourite online women’s magazines, Ireland’s IMAGE, I came across a post on a recent marketing campaign supporting Jameson Select Reserve Black Barrel. With the whiskey’s iconic barrels and the artistry of master cooper Ger Buckley as inspiration, four Irish artisans created pieces celebrating both the Jameson brand and their own artistic heritage.

The pieces–a leather apron, a trestle table, a holster bag, and a tweed cap–are lovely in themselves, but what really struck me were the resulting ad spots highlighting these partnerships. There’s a romantic, almost sensual, quality to them, but they still seem quite masculine. (Maybe the company’s decision to go with male artisans has coloured my perception? I wonder what partnerships with female artisans would have produced?) I couldn’t help but be taken in by these ads. The pride in Irish craftsmanship and tradition feels genuine to me, and confidence is so very attractive. I may now have to buy a bottle of Select Reserve for my collection.

So well done, marketers. Or as they say in Ireland, fair play to you.