Over the weekend, cities around the country got creative with their St. Patrick’s Day 2025 celebrations. In Leesburg, FL, Leprechaun Wrestling was the main event of Shamrockin’ Fest 2025, while in San Antonio, TX, the Wiener Dog Derby drew quite a crowd at Little Woodrow’s Braun. Of course, Chicago dyed its river green, and so did Tampa, FL, for the 2025 River O’ Green Festival off the Hillsborough River. Brands got in the spirit, too, taking part in festivals and launching campaigns of their own in time for the March 17 holiday. We rounded up five that were “great craic.”
GUINNESS
Guinness is bringing a little extra heart into its upcoming ad campaign. The stout brand is inviting consumers to share photos of their gatherings with Guinness to highlight “real stories of people coming together over pints.”
Through a partnership with POV, a disposable camera app, the brand is putting together the official Guinness St. Patrick’s Day camera roll that fans can add photos to by scanning QR codes found in the wild or by visiting the POV link directly. Guinness will be posting select shared moments on its social handles, billboards and in a new commercial later this year.
As part of the Guinness Lovely Day Project, the brand will be traveling around the U.S. to capture connective moments, with details coming soon, but for the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, Guinness participated in dozens of events and parades, including the Chicago River dyeing, of which it’s the official sponsor, and an immersive pop-up at Victor Victor Worldwide HQ in New York.
From March 13-19, all PopUp Bagels locations in the Northeast will be offering the “Good Time for a Guinness Stout Schmear” cream cheese, and ahead of the Chicago River dyeing, PopUp Bagels was available in Chicago, exclusively at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery, on March 14.
Photos: Courtesy of Guinness
KAHLÚA
Kahlúa made a bold claim for St. Patrick’s Day: “Stout’s out; espresso martinis are in.” In its own poll, the coffee liqueur brand found that “two in three drinkers have felt the need to order a ‘certain stout drink’ to fit in,” so Kahlúa offered cocktail lovers a covert way to enjoy their drink of choice on the holiday. Enter: the Schneaky Espresso Martini Glass. Shaped like a pint of stout on the outside, the specially designed, hand-blown glass sneakily conceals an espresso martini glass inside.
On March 16 and 17, Kahlúa gave away free Schneaky Espresso Martinis in the custom glasses exclusively at two pubs, Howl at the Moon in Hoxton, London, and O’Loclainn’s in County Clare, Ireland. Consumers could try the undercover glass for free by ordering a “Schneaky Espresso Martini” at the bar.
MCDONALD’S
Every year, the Shamrock Shake makes its limited-time return to McDonald’s menu for St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s been decades since Uncle O’Grimacey has made an appearance. Introduced in 1975 to promote the minty green milkshake, Grimace’s Irish uncle kicked off the 2025 Shamrock Shake campaign on the “Today” show last month, coming back into the spotlight in honor of the 50th year of Ronald McDonald House Charities. (Delve further into nostalgia marketing in our Trend of the Week.)
For every Shamrock Shake purchased through Mar. 23 at participating McDonald’s, 25 cents will be donated to RMHC with a goal of raising $5 million. Plus, Uncle O’Grimacey fans can purchase special merch, with additional donations benefiting RMHC.
Uncle O’Grimacey was very busy over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, first floating on a boat down the green-colored Chicago River and then dancing a jig at the Empire State Building in New York City on Monday. He also stopped by local McDonald’s locations and even rode the subway, just like his nephew Grimace, who took the 7 train to Citi Field with Mets fans back in October.
CLAUSSEN
And looking back on last October, that’s when Dua Lipa divided the internet with a TikTok video of herself mixing Diet Coke with pickle juice and a hint of jalapeño. Some admired her innovation, while others questioned her distasteful creation. Still, more than 12 million users discovered the recipe, and Claussen quickly joined the conversation, teasing a “Just The Brine” product and promising to make it a reality if fans showed enough love.
Months later, in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Claussen actually launched Just The Brine on March 14. The bottle of pickle brine is meant to add a tangy kick as a drink mixer at night (“pickle yourself”) and boost electrolytes by day (“unpickle yourself”). Was Dua Lipa really on to something?
Photo: Courtesy of The Kraft Heinz Company
KERRYGOLD
If pickles aren’t your thing, how about cheese? Irish brands Kerrygold and Native Denims are collaborating on a limited-edition pair of jeans that features an extra small pocket for cheese. The pocket was designed to perfectly fit Kerrygold Cheese Snacks (to “carry gold,” get it?) and is embroidered with the Irish buttercups in Kerrygold’s logo. Starting March 19, consumers can enter for a chance to win one of 500 pairs of the Kerrygold x Native Denims Cheese Pocket Jeans, available in men’s and women’s sizes, by visiting a microsite.
Photo: Courtesy of Kerrygold
Featured photo: Courtesy of McDonald’s
