There are the old reliable disagreements Irish people have amongst each other. Some are fun and good natured like Barry's vs Lyons but if you were around in the early 2000s, there was no escaping the biggest one: Keane vs McCarthy.
The events of Saipan lived long in Irish people’s memories, with many disagreements in pubs, homes and everywhere else on who was in the right. Thankfully, time is a healer and while a nation has long moved on, it is fresh enough to poke fun at with the latest ad for Heineken 0.0.
With a wink and a nod to the events of summer 2002, McCarthy walks into a bar and tells the barman he’s looking for "redemption," referring to a free pint of Heineken 0.0.
Before it is poured for him, there is a cheeky reference to Keane, who is depicted as an enigmatic figure with retro Irish jersey to boot, before being served his pint. To cap the joke, McCarthy says: "redemption never tasted this good."
The ad is to promote Heineken’s latest offering: a complimentary pint of its non-alcoholic drink. The campaign continues until 14th September at participating pubs nationwide.
The timing of the ad is linked with a new movie Saipan chronicling the events of that summer, starring Steve Coogan as McCarthy and Éanna Hardwicke as Keane.
The movie will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which takes place from September 4th to 14th.
McCarthy is well known for his dry sense of humour, having many quotable moments throughout his club and international managerial career.
When Ireland were playing Gibraltar at the Aviva in June 2019, where they won 2-0, McCarthy was asked about the bus breaking down on the way to the stadium saying "it broke down." When he was asked to elaborate, he replied: "It wouldn’t go any further."
To get your voucher for a free Heineken 0.0, visit www.complimentarypint.heineken.ie
