It’s commonly accepted that the Thanksgiving holiday period is one of indulgence. There’s the holiday itself, where people are encouraged to overeat to the point of falling asleep on the couch. And then there’s the night before, a.k.a. “Blackout Wednesday,” which is considered to be one of the biggest drinking nights of the year.
It is within both these areas that Southern Comfort (commonly referred to as “SoCo”) has opted to make its first foray into the fashion world, debuting a line of lounge pants that take advantage of people’s propensity for excess over the holiday. The so-called “Drinking Pants” include a pocket designed to hold a shot glass for on-the-go revelry and have been designed with comfort for all occasions in mind.
“The pandemic changed nearly everything about daily life, including making comfy-casual attire not only acceptable – but tasteful,” said Sara Saunders, vice president of global marketing for brand-parent Sazerac, in a release. “Southern Comfort wants to lead the way on tasteful choices so we conducted a host of detailed market research and that led us to an important conclusion: pants today are missing a few crucial elements that would improve lives everywhere, a key one being a shot glass pocket.”
The unisex pants are branded with the company’s logo and the identification that they are “Drinking Pants” across the rear end. The pants, which – when reversed – are logo free to accommodate more formal occasions, are secured by a drawstring, meaning people can let them out after a big meal.
The Drinking Pants are an extension of the brand’s recently launched “So Tasteful” advertising campaign, which features a man dressed in a Southern Comfort bottle costume asserting that the spirit can satisfy both good times and refined tastes. In one campaign commercial, the character agrees that the common perception is that he is about “dancing on tables and getting crazy.” Though he admits this may be the case at times, the character asserts he is also “refined … or dare I say, ‘tasteful?’” The spot closes with the character holding a shot glass of Southern Comfort encouraging people to put their “Pinkies out. [and] Bottoms up.”
The brand’s Drinking Pants are priced at $11.23 (in honor of this year’s Thanksgiving Eve) and will be available for sale on Southern Comfort’s website beginning on Nov. 14.
