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Alan Curbishley, the former Charlton Athletic and West Ham manager, fronts Jameson’s “Know Your Score” responsible‑drinking initiative. Launched in April 2026, this campaign leverages Jameson’s English Football League (EFL) partnership and Drinkaware’s expertise to engage football fans with a quick online “Drinking Check.” In a football‐style video, Curbishley mixes humor and hard facts – what begins as a pep talk to players becomes a reminder to “know your limits.” He says “football and drinking go hand in hand… but we all need to be aware of our limits”. The goal is to prompt self-awareness: fans are invited to complete a three‑minute quiz that scores their drinking and provides tailored feedback. This review examines the campaign’s positioning, creative approach, and impact, comparing it to similar industry efforts, and draws strategic insights for brand marketing executives.
Jameson has built a multi-year responsible drinking platform around football culture. As a sponsor of the EFL (covering 72 clubs), the brand has a captive audience of passionate fans. In late 2023 Jameson ran a broad “Sip Wisely” campaign across club sites and stadium screens, featuring tips on mindful drinking and low/no‐alcohol cocktails. In 2024 it introduced the “Know Your Score” concept, partnering with Drinkaware (an independent alcohol charity) to drive fans to an online self‐assessment. The 2025 edition featured ex-player Jay Bothroyd; this second‐year push (2026) stars football manager Alan Curbishley. By anchoring the message in a familiar football context, Jameson seeks to combine brand values (“the craic” and camaraderie) with a serious health message. According to Pernod Ricard UK, the campaign “uses football culture to encourage fans to check their drinking habits”. Drinkaware data shows over 8 million UK adults regularly exceed guidelines, so the initiative clearly targets a significant public health issue.
In practice, Jameson and Drinkaware use the EFL partnership to amplify reach: campaign videos and posts run on Drinkaware’s channels, Jameson’s social media, and through EFL and club digital platforms. The creative execution intentionally blends entertainment with education. For example, one campaign video starts like a classic team talk – energetic and humorous – but ends with a sober reminder to think of loved ones and “stay on your game” by drinking responsibly. This tone is praised by spokespeople: Nick Terry of Drinkaware calls it “clever” and highlights that combining Jameson’s creative platform with Drinkaware’s trusted advice helps “connect with audiences in powerful new ways”. Liam Murphy, Jameson’s UK marketing director, emphasizes that the brand’s fun ethos (“love bringing people together and live for the craic”) is compatible with a responsibility message. He notes the prior campaign drove behaviour change: “last year a significant number of people took ‘The Drinking Check’… that’s what it’s all about, driving behaviour change and spreading awareness”. The initiative is positioned as both a public service and a brand‐building effort: it demonstrates Jameson’s commitment to moderation while keeping the brand visible during football’s final season stages.
The core campaign asset is a short video and social media content featuring Curbishley. He delivers lines like “We all need to be aware of our limits,” blending football motivational rhetoric with gentle admonition. Such creative hook – football culture meets public health – sets the campaign apart from typical industry “drink responsibly” ads. It leverages an authentic football voice (a real manager) rather than a polished corporate spokesman, which may boost credibility with fans. In addition to video, the campaign promotes Drinkaware’s Drinking Check – a free 3‑minute quiz. According to the Drinkaware site, the Check asks ten multiple-choice questions, scoring users 0–40 based on WHO’s AUDIT criteria. Higher scores indicate riskier drinking. Completing it yields a personalized score and advice. By using a WHO‑validated tool, Jameson positions the resource as clinically grounded, not mere marketing.
The campaign also includes pragmatic “excuse generators” and social media tips (e.g., Jameson’s Instagram provides witty ways to end a night early) to engage younger audiences. The Jameson website mentions a “Jameson Excuse Generator” to help party-goers gracefully leave late-night gatherings. These tactics show a user-centric approach: practical aids and humor to reinforce safe drinking. Measuring performance is harder to gauge (no public numbers beyond last year’s launch) but first-year data is positive: Drinkaware reported 9,000 quiz completions on day one of the Jay Bothroyd campaign. Achieving this in a single day suggests strong initial engagement and word-of-mouth (likely fueled by the novelty of a footballer spokesperson). It’s unclear how many total users participated last season, but Pernod Ricard calls the campaign “award-winning” and says it has already reached thousands of fans. These indicators suggest the creative concept resonated with the audience.
From a marketing standpoint, the campaign delivers multiple benefits. First, it aligns Jameson with a positive social cause, strengthening brand reputation among regulators and the public. In an industry facing criticism for promoting alcohol, genuine partnerships (with charities like Drinkaware) can counteract negative perceptions. Second, it drives engagement at scale: by embedding the message into football club networks and digital channels, Jameson touches a defined demographic (sports fans) with less media spend than broad ads. The collaboration with Drinkaware also lends Jameson credibility and content resources. Third, by providing a concrete tool (the Drinking Check), the campaign goes beyond slogans. Fans who take the quiz spend time with Drinkaware’s site, potentially improving long-term awareness of moderation guidelines. Brand owners often struggle to measure the ROI of CSR campaigns, but in this case tangible metrics exist (quiz completions, video views). Citing numbers like “9,000 checks in one day” gives executive stakeholders something to report internally.
On the flip side, expectations should be managed. Independent experts note that alcohol industry “responsible drinking” messages have limited impact on overall consumption. Stakeholders must understand this campaign is one part of Jameson’s broader stewardship strategy – not a magic bullet. The immediate metric is awareness and engagement; any long-term change in drinking behavior is hard to attribute solely to one campaign. Moreover, messaging must tread carefully to avoid appearing patronizing. Jameson’s humorous tone seems to strike a balance, but the company will need to monitor audience sentiment. Overall, however, the campaign’s approach is more sophisticated than a simple “drink responsibly” tagline. It uses storytelling and self-assessment to make the advice feel personal, which likely increases credibility compared to generic warning labels.
Other alcohol brands have experimented with sports-themed moderation campaigns. For example, Guinness (a Diageo brand) has run Premier League activations emphasizing moderation, and Heineken promotes its 0.0 drink around events. Jameson’s campaign is distinctive in its interactive element and charity tie-in. The WHO‑based quiz and public endorsement by a football figure make it feel more substantive. Its multi-channel rollout (including stadium screens, Sky Sports VOD, club digital content) ensures consistency across fan touchpoints; this holistic use of rights is a best-practice model for sports sponsorship marketing. By contrast, some brand initiatives rely only on social posts or sponsorship mentions – Jameson’s use of owned, earned and paid channels in concert is noteworthy.
Importantly, Jameson built on its 2023 “Sip Wisely” campaign by evolving the creative strategy rather than repeating the same message. This suggests a learning mindset: first, they broadly promoted moderation tips at matches; next, they added engagement via a quiz and storytelling. Future campaigns might deepen this by, for instance, sharing aggregated (anonymized) data on fan drinking patterns or introducing community challenges. For brand leaders, the key takeaway is the value of iteration and partnership. Teaming with Drinkaware gave Jameson expertise and a platform (the quiz) it didn’t have, while Jameson provided cultural relevance and distribution. This synergy likely increased campaign credibility.
For alcohol brand and marketing executives, Jameson’s experience offers several insights:
Jameson’s latest Drinkaware campaign exemplifies a modern approach to responsible drinking marketing: audience-centric, integrated with brand culture, and collaborative. It strikes a balance between entertainment and education, and its measurable tools provide a foundation for continuous improvement. As alcohol brands face growing pressure to demonstrate social responsibility, campaigns like this – backed by data and aligned with consumer interests – offer a roadmap for meaningful engagement.
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