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Winking at Vintage PSAs, Four Walls Asks, 'It's 10 P.M. Do You Know Where Your Friends Are?'
Celeb-powered whiskey brand pours on the nostalgia
My, how times have changed.
Several generations grew up with the phrase, “It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?” From the late-1960s through at least the late-’80s, TV stations across the country would broadcast those words during their nightly programming as a cautionary cue for parents. The message got woven into the fabric of everyday life. It became, in the truest sense of an overused word, iconic.
Now, Four Walls—the whiskey brand from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia stars Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton—puts a cheeky spin on “It’s 10 p.m.” and other PSAs of yore.
Here in 2026, the brand asks: “Do you know where your friends are?” It’s a reminder for folks to get out and about, unwind, socialize—and enjoy some Four Walls (responsibly, natch).
Starting today, 1,500 LinkNYC in Manhattan and Brooklyn will flash the brand’s message twice daily, at 5 and 10 p.m.
What’s more, Four Walls’ three celeb co-founders appear in a series of spots sending up bygone—but well-remembered—public-service efforts of the past.
Dubbed “Pledge to Hang” and developed in-house, the campaign marks yet another adland trek through cultural nostalgia. It tweaks tropes of yore to spark engagement and keep the brand top of mind.
Of course, the actual PSAs were about community safety. Here, Four Walls is selling whiskey. Hypocritical? Perhaps. But famous PSAs get parodied all the time. And this mildly edgy approach feels on point, with Rob Mac and pals delivering the funny in familiar brand fashion.
Below, Muse hangs with brand CMO Ashley Purdum to learn more.
What made you think of the old “10 p.m.” announcements?
We knew we wanted the whole campaign to be PSAs, because it’s something the team actually believes people need reminding of: good times are good for you. That’s the brand’s whole reason for being: “Come on in, spend more time together within our four walls.” And bars are great places to connect. We watched a LOT of old ads for inspiration, and the 10 p.m. line made sense to tie back to “it’s five o’clock somewhere” and traditional happy hour timing.
Why lean into OOH?
We have traditional spots too, via paid social, but as to the reason for out-of-home: Charlie’s says it best: “I still get excited about being on a billboard. In America you see a billboard for any profession besides an attorney and you think, ‘They’ve made it.'”
Aren’t many of the viewers a bit young to recall the original PSAs?
Our target audience is anyone that is 21 years old+. Everything’s in the ether now. People younger than 40 were not around for “The More You Know” or the Partnership for a Drug-Free America spots, either. And yet because of the Internet, people know exactly what those are. And we think the line still works even if you don’t catch the specific reference.
So, you’e a whiskey brand spoofing PSAs. Any concerns about potential blowback?
We’re very lucky that anything we make for Four Walls has the benefit of 18 seasons of groundwork our co-founders have laid with the subversiveness and “winking humor” (as the New Yorker referred to it) of their own show.
This social post offers a peek behind the scenes:
CREDITS
Production Company: Twelve Tone Productions
Director/DP: Steven Wacks
Producer: Max Coyne
Camera: Blake Evans, Sophie Bruza, Wes Gathright
Audio: John Slocum
Editor: Roy Pearson
Animation: MK Luff
Voiceover: Clint Morrison
Grooming: Darcy Gilmore
Prompter: Althea “Tia” Johnson
Related: Rob Mac’s Dream Sequence Leaves Ryan Reynolds Behind
