Arthur's Day, Is it a scam if we're all in on it?

A Belfast Telegraph blogger called Eamonn McCann has written a rather scathing attack on drinks Czars Diageo and their cynical attempts to promote a new day of celebration for their main product, Guinness.

The article by Mr McCann (read it here- http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/eamonn-mccann/how-we-bought-into-the-pr-scam-that-is-arthurs-day-29572850.html) is a tirade against the corporate greed of Diageo, but I think such venomous rhetoric is somewhat simplistic in its explanation and appears all too eager to cast Arthur's Day as without redeeming elements or any essence of merit.

First and foremost, Diageo used the opportunity of the 250th anniversary of the brewing of Guinness in Dublin (1759, the date that appears on all Guinness logos) to launch Arthur's Day in 2009.

It was, in reflection, a date which merited celebration.  Guinness has, down through the years, provided one of the most identifiable and exportable products that has ever emerged from these green shores.

What's more, Diageo have paid taxes and have sold enough pints of the black stuff, with associated excise duty, to create possibly the largest dent in Ireland's tax revenue should the stout stop flowing out overnight.

Many people would like Diageo to leave Ireland and certainly to end their association with Guinness.  We have idealised notions of Guinness as how our fathers used to enjoy it, perpetuated by the abundance of "Guinness is Good For You" signs which loiter like barflies in wrinkled suits in the dingier corners of our traditional pubs.

But the truth of the matter is Guinness is a global brand because of Diageo and the success of the brand must be attributed in no small part to the ruthless global nature of the drinks conglomerate.

Since 2009, Arthur's Day has returned once a year and has been increasingly viewed by the world-weary as a cynical attempt by Diageo to get us to drink more, with the thin veil of music gigs, special offers or that indefinable 'Irish-ish' tag which accompanies any pint of the black and white drunk by anyone under the age of 30.

The truth of the matter is, we have all become too afraid of alcohol advertising in this country.  Drinks companies already have to jump through hoops to advertise alcohol, but this is tempered by the fact that alcohol is a dangerous and controlled substance.  It is not available everywhere and its sale is restricted to those over 18 years of age.

Have a look through the Advertising Standards Authority's standards for alcohol (http://www.asai.ie/entiresection.asp?Section_Num=7) and if you are like me, you will see that the vast majority of the regulations laid down make sense.

With limited options open for advertising, Diageo sought another outlet and Arthur's Day was it.  The day could not be promoted as a giant drinking session or pub crawl (see the ASAI regs) and so it had to have a separate focus, which was live music.

Guinness-sponsored bands played the length and breadth of the country for the first Arthur's Day in 2009 and subsequent Arthur's Days have had even more bands playing under their banner.

What, exactly, is wrong with this?  Who exactly is being scammed?  The band? The venue?  The audience?

Ah, yes.  Mr McCann went with the latter, saying that Arthur's Day was just a means of debasing the 'Irish' identity.  In his own words "Sales of plastic bodhrans and leprechaun beards soared through the thatched-style roof of the craft-village cottages, as half the population turned out in full Darby O'Gill get-up as capering extras in epic scenes of paddy-wackery."

Where exactly did this congregation of green beards, ginger wigs and goatskin drums take place?  I've yet to see the photos to prove that there was anything approaching the knee-slapping, shillelagh-swinging 'paddy-wackery' that Mr McCann said was so evident.

Some people went out on a night they may not have normally gone out - in 2012 Arthur's Day fell on a Wednesday night, this year it's a Thursday.  They had a few drinks.  If they wanted to avail of any subsidised pints of Guinness, that was their decision as adults to make.

Eamonn McCann's article was based on the premise that the marketing men and women hired by Diageo who came up with the concept of Arthur's Day and 'sold' it to us are somehow smarter than we are.

I'd say to Eamonn, give the people of Ireland a little bit more credit than that.  Arthur's Day is a marketing dream for Diageo, but only because we, the people, allow it to be.