Tullamore Dew’s parting glass

At the opening of its new €35 million Tullamore Distillery yesterday, Tullamore Dew’s global brand director Caspar MacRae referenced the brand’s advertising campaign, calling the opening a “true ‘parting glass’ moment”.

Last year Tullamore Dew commissioned an advertisement from New York agency Opperman Weiss for broadcast online, in cinemas and, to a more limited extent, on television.

Filmed in Wicklow, the cinematic advertisement was directed by Laurence Dunmore of RSA Films. It features a group of male hipster friends dressed up for their friend's wedding and reminiscing about good times over glasses of whiskey. The soundtrack is the classic trad ballad The Parting Glass.

Such was the success in terms of online sharing – the #PartingGlass campaign reached 5.6 million Facebook users – that the brand spun out an online competition during the summer linked to yesterday's opening. Ten people won a trip to the distillery launch by suggesting on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram their "parting glass" moment.

The winners are from US, Czech Republic, Ireland and Britain, and suggested moments range from moving into a new apartment to reconnecting with friends overseas.