Bartenders are the guardians of their dimly-lit domains, doling out strong cocktails, sage advice and—as the ultimate validation to those bellying up—free booze.
Glenn Howerton just picked up a Four Walls whiskey, neat and gratis, at his favorite watering hole. But the actor-writer-producer still isn’t sure he’s feeling the love from the drink slinger.
“I mean, look at him—he’s majestic,” Howerton says in a new Four Walls ad. “I just want him to like me so damn much.”
Irish American whiskey Four Walls dropped its latest ad today in honor of National Bartender Day, underlining the brand’s commitment to barkeeps who can be “intimidating, surly and downright hurtful at times, but it’s all part of the dance,” Howerton says in the spot.
The ad, called “On The House,” continues the now-established Four Walls creative approach of self-deprecation and fourth-wall breaking from its celebrity founders and Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-stars Howerton, Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney.
The brand, which began as DTC, is expanding its distribution into bars in New York and Pennsylvania. It sells at retailers in Florida and California, where it’s stocked at Total Wine & More, and via the Four Walls site, ReserveBar, Flaviar and Caskers.
Proceeds from the brand’s merchandise shop—stocked with logo t-shirts and hats—go to Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, a New Orleans-based nonprofit that educates, advances and supports workers in the hospitality industry.
The new ad launches ahead of Adweek X, a Dec. 4 event in Los Angeles where Howerton and McElhenney will discuss their collaboration on the whiskey brand and other projects. Also part of the panel, available on live stream, will be Casey McGrath, CEO and founder of Four Walls, and Kelsey Trainor, chief strategy officer for McElhenny’s business ventures. – T.L. Stanley