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It’s been more than 30 years since Miller Lite beer had a nationally broadcast Super Bowl ad. But that changed in 2023 because Anheuser-Busch didn’t re-up its exclusivity agreement and opened the door for other brewers to showcase their beers during the big game.
But even when brands like Coors Light and Miller Lite were barred from the national stage, they still found ways to sneak their way into the public consciousness with some of the most brilliant ad campaigns that they’ve ever produced.
“These off-Broadway campaigns gave Molson Coors more than just an entrée into the cultural zeitgeist, says Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University who studies Super Bowl ads told Beer & Beyond…
“You can be much more edgy and quirky because you’re not showing (an ad) to 100 million people. …There’s freedom in these guerilla campaigns to take creative risks and do fun things. When you couldn’t buy a spot, it opened up a lot of opportunities. “It’s a chance to be creative and take some risks.”
And here some blasts from the past that we particularly enjoyed…
2009: Miller High Life’s 1-second beer ads
In 2009, 30 seconds of national airtime cost $3 million. Miller High Life looked to put a twist on the big Super Bowl ad spend, airing 30 1-second ads on local TV stations leading up to the game that cost $100,000 a second.
This video plays a bit grainy. These one second spots were filmed well before digital, but they’re still worth your time.
2010: High Life features the little guys
While Super Bowl ads are almost exclusively the domain of big companies, Miller High Life opted to share the stage with four small businesses in an ad that ran in local markets.
Hilarious!
2022: Miller64 answers the world’s easiest math question
Most people will agree that 80 is more than 64, but Miller64, which was reintroduced as Miller Extra Light in 2024, found a concerning number of Americans believed just the opposite.
To confirm that 80 (the number of calories in Bud Light Next) is a larger number than Miller64’s 64 calories, the brand asked world-renowned mathematician Dr. Ken Ono to weigh in…
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Want more on Super Bowl beer commercials, past and present?
We’ve got ‘em…
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