The archive · PR & Stunts · Strategic decision · 2025–2026
Heineken recruits a McLoughlin to save a 155-year-old Irish pub — Grand Clio 2026
With a retiring publican and no heir, Heineken ran a worldwide search for a namesake successor — 2,000+ applicants, successor found, 2026 Grand Clio.
Heineken · LePub · Publicis Dublin
What it had to solve
In Ireland, family-named pubs are cultural anchors, but more than 2,100 pubs have closed since 2005 and most retiring publicans have no family successor — when the pub is sold outside the lineage, the name above the door disappears. For Heineken, whose brand depends on pub culture, this was both a risk and a chance to earn legitimacy by protecting the institution instead of advertising louder.
How it works
McLoughlin's Bar on Achill Island, off Ireland's west coast, had been in the McLoughlin family for 155 years when Josie McLoughlin, its fourth-generation owner, reached retirement with no heir: his family now lives around the world. Rather than see the name leave the door, Heineken — working with LePub and Publicis Dublin — turned the problem into a global recruitment campaign.
Launched around St. Patrick's Day 2025, 'Pub Succession' asked the 88 million-strong Irish diaspora for a successor: specifically, someone named McLoughlin. Billboards and ads appeared in emigration cities from Times Square to Buenos Aires and Phan Thiết, Vietnam; PR ran in 12 languages; and PubSuccession.com collected applications. The chosen successor would receive a package of mentorship, business support and investment guidance — and keep the family name above the door.
The campaign reframed a private succession problem as a shared cultural mission: family-named pubs had been closing by the thousands (2,100+ since 2005), and with each one sold outside its lineage, an identity died. Heineken positioned itself as a steward of continuity, extending its earlier pub-support work into active succession.
Over six months the search drew 2,000+ qualified applicants from around the world (with 5,000+ more registering interest), reached 88 million people across 128 countries, earned 1.19 billion media impressions and lifted Heineken's brand engagement 200%. Alan McLoughlin, a 37-year-old from Toronto, was chosen as successor — and the platform went on to support more than 40 additional family pubs.
Why it lands
- The creative constraint — the successor must be named McLoughlin — turns a business problem into a story anyone can share and verify.
- Launching on St. Patrick's Day activates the diaspora's strongest emotional connection to Ireland, when every Irish person misses home.
- By solving the pub industry's succession crisis instead of making a beer ad, Heineken earned cultural legitimacy in a market where heritage drives beer loyalty.
- The real publican's real story made the campaign impossible to fake, and 88 million potential heirs became the distribution channel.
- The succession package tied brand purpose to business reality, so the stunt left a lasting platform rather than a one-off.
What it did
The search reached 88 million people of Irish descent across 128 countries, drew 2,000+ qualified applicants (5,000+ more registered interest), generated 3,000+ media hits and 1.19 billion earned impressions, and lifted brand engagement 200%. Alan McLoughlin, 37, of Toronto became the successor; PubSuccession.com later supported 40+ more pubs. The work won the 2026 Grand Clio for B2B Direct plus a 2025 Golden Drum Grand Prix.
What you can take
To earn relevance in a category, solve the structural problem it depends on: Heineken protected the pub that defines Irish beer culture, and let 88 million heirs — not paid media — tell the story.
Since then
Alan McLoughlin, 37, from Toronto took over McLoughlin's Bar, keeping the family name above the door, and PubSuccession.com evolved into an ongoing platform that by 2026 was supporting 40+ additional family pubs facing succession. The campaign won the Grand Prix and a Gold at the 2025 Golden Drum Awards, plus a Brand Building Golden Drum and a B2B Silver, and in 2026 it took the Grand Clio for B2B Direct with five Silvers and two Bronzes. It became the anchor of Heineken's 'For the Love of Pubs' initiative, which also produced Pub Museums and other pub-support programs.
Sources
- Heineken: Pub Succession — Ads of the World case page
- Heineken | Pub Succession — The One Show 2026 entry
- The HEINEKEN Company celebrates major wins at Golden Drum 2025, including the prestigious Brand Grand Prix
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