Maybe United Airlines had the right idea when its new advertising was launched with a simple “United” tagline, letting the commercial do the selling job.
Miller Lite’s new tagline–“Grab a Miller Lite. It’s Miller Time.”–is as flat as warm beer.
Mind you, this new tagline comes from one of the better agencies–Ogilvy & Mather New York. Fortunately, the agency has conceived a campaign substantially better than the dreadful, innocuous “Dick” creative conceived by former Miller Lite agency Fallon McElligott.
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The new spots, which will air on upcoming telecasts of the NCAA college basketball tournament, were shown Friday to Miller distributors in Dallas, who, according to sources, were “fired up” when they saw them.
The new spots are spiced with humor, and the best of the lot is the commercial slugged “Radiohead,” in which a male patient with a metal plate in his head is wheeled into a hospital bed as a nurse announces that he can pick up radio waves through the plate. Other patients in the ward gather around him and with a few adjustments, they pick up the broadcast of a baseball game.
The commercial concludes with patients chugging down Miller Lite, which might appear absurd, considering the environment, but it’s all fun and games.
Almost as zany are two other commercials–one called “Eye Rub”–in which a group of friends in a tavern are having a good time, but rubbing their eyes, and miss a couple of gorgeous young women.
The other is a spot called “Thanks, Bob” where Lite drinkers are kidding a designated driver–who is asked by three young women whose car has broken down to take them home.
These three ideas are hardly fresh, but the humor is effective.
Miller Brewing finds itself in a dogfight to keep Miller Lite No. 2 among all lights in the suds business.
Miller Lite was up 2.2 percent to 16.25 million barrels in 1999–no chance of catching Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light with its 29 million barrels. Coors Brewing Co.’s Coors Light was at 16 million barrels in 1999.
Miller Lite sales peaked at 19.9 million barrels in 1990, then slipped to 15.6 million barrels by 1994, before beginning a recovery, according to Beer Marketers Insights.
As for “Miller Time,” it’s an oldie. The line was initially used for Miller High Life in the 1970s, revived in 1997-1998 for Miller Lite, then scrapped.
Miller has great equity in Miller Time, every bit of research documenting that consumers identify it.
Robert Mikulay, senior VP-marketing for Miller, a Milwaukee-based unit of Philip Morris Cos., says consumer association is a reason the line is being resurrected, adding that “it represents the spirit of camaraderie, fun and friendship embodied by Miller Lite.”
Our opinion, the new Miller Lite tagline is weak and didn’t take much brainpower. It’s essentially another creative recycling job in an industry that’s expected to develop new ideas.
– Separately, TruServ Corp. on Thursday breaks a new TV brand-positioning campaign for its True Value chain that returns to a “Help is just around the corner” tagline, replacing “Anything to Help.” MARC USA Pittsburgh is the agency.
– Kevin Smith, senior VP-chief account officer for True North Communications, became executive VP and chief financial officer, continuing to be based in Chicago. Donald Seeley, who had been the Chicago-based True North vice chairman-CFO, is stepping down but will continue as a director and a consultant. Separately, Doug Housley became hotel manager of the Ritz-Carlton Chicago, reporting to Tom Kelly, general manager. Housley recently was executive assistant manager of the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel in Seattle.
– Whittman-Hart and USWeb/CKS, the newly merged Internet professional services firm, picked Raleigh, N.C., agency McKinney & Silver and VSA Partners in Chicago for advertising and branding, respectively. USWeb/CKS had previously acquired McKinney & Silver.
Strictly Personal: Birthday greetings to Marc Schulman, 45 (Eli’s); Stedman Graham, 49; Everett Kovler, 81; Kathy Waltz, 46 (Newport News, Va., Daily Press); H. M. “Sandy” Barba, 72 (Fox Associates); Mike Tower, 41 (Sears, Roebuck); Michelle Elster, 42 (Rabin Research) and Kathy Valdiserri, 44 (Quantum Leap).