An Irish whiskey distiller left for America. The local whiskey industry was caught off-guard. His friends and neighbors from his hometown bid him a farewell "f@%k you" from fishing boats and on horseback. Regulars at pubs threw darts at his face while consuming his beloved potion.

When Minnesota-based O’Shaughnessy Distilling Co. was looking to introduce a new Irish American whiskey to the U.S., it needed a hook to win over shelf space in a market where there are already 2,000 operational distilleries. And so, along with TDA Boulder, the brand decided to tell an authentically Irish story of its master distiller Brian Nation—who was poached from Jameson, one of Ireland’s most famous whiskeys. The resulting cheeky and expletive-filled ads charmed consumers, who began asking for the brand at their local liquor stores.

The minute-long videos backed by traditional Irish music were filmed in Nation's hometown of Cork and showcase its bucolic landscape and colorful local residents. In the spots, a schoolteacher, an ironsmith, a shepherd and others in Irish accents lament Nation’s departure with ire. Some of them tell Nation to not come back, but at the end of the video, fiddle and banjo players in the pub stop the music, put away their instruments and raise their glasses to toast their beloved whiskey master.

With no paid media, the campaign—a B2B disguised as a B2C ad—generated more than 500,000 organic views across social media and more than 400 million PR impressions. Most importantly, the effort stoked a 29% increase in the distribution of Keeper’s Heart as distributors came calling on the brand rather than the other way around. Among the ranking of best-selling whiskeys on Reserve Bar, Keeper’s Heart climbed to 4th place out of 124.

Thanks to "Brian," Keeper's Heart won over distributors who don't often give a—well, you know—about new entries.