Frenemies

Reports are out that Coors Light has surpassed Miller Light to be the number 3 bestselling beer in the US, behind Bug Light & Budweiser. One of those stories can be found here. Coors latest marketing messaging sticks to one point, only that it should be VERY COLD. (I agree. Kills the taste.) What is funny is that Miller and Coors are supposed to be helping each other, being owned by the same company nowadays. Looks more like sibling rivalry. Clip of the info below:

Miller Lite's sales last year totaled 17.7 million barrels, down from 18.35 million barrels in 2007, according to trade publication Beer Marketer's Insights. Meanwhile, Coors Light's sales increased 2.6%, to 17.75 million barrels compared to 17.3 million barrels.

Coors Light and Miller Lite are the nation's No. 3 and No. 4 brands. The top selling brands are Bud Light, at 42 million barrels, up 0.1%, and Budweiser, at 23.1 million barrels, down 6.1%. Rounding out the top 10 are Natural Light, Corona Extra, Busch Light, Busch, High Life and Heineken.

Overall U.S. beer sales increased 0.5% in 2008.

One Second Superbowl

Have you heard about this yet? Please don't say no. Anyway, I think it's clever, and if they end up running 30 of these things, I'll be disappointed. Stick with one. See here for the "rejected" ads, and be sure to click on the part that tells you what $30 million could buy you, besides a SuperBowl spot. What do you think? If this is post-game Sunday, what DID you think?

Great Taste, Less Filling

MillerCoors is bringing back the classic “Great Taste, Less Filling” advertising tagline for Miller Lite. “Research has shown the two factors that matter the most to mainstream light beer drinkers are taste and refreshment,” MillerCoors said on Tuesday in a message to distributors.

-- ripped directly from MillerCoors' BrewBlog

The quiz question for you, dear readers, is this.

If Miller Lite = Great Taste, then Coors Light = ___________?

MillerCoors keeps a beer blog

And it all about beer industry news. It can be found here.

Today's news is that Bud Light Lime is the top growth brand in supermarkets during the first half of the year, according to beer sales statistics from Nielsen. (Yes, that says supermarkets, meaning that this doesn't necessarily account for TOTAL sales. In some states, you can ONLY buy beer at supermarkets, while in others you cannot at all. SO the kind of people that pick up beer at the grocery store, tend to like Bud Light Lime. I don't buy beer at the grocery store, but I AM a fan of Bud Light Lime.)

The new lime line extension -- (which follows MillerCoors is quick to note debuted WELL after Miller Chill) -- moved nearly 1 million cases in the period ended June 28, according to beer market analysis from Nielsen. What makes that more impressive is that Bud Light Lime didn’t hit the market until late April.

Overall, A-B placed nine brands among the fastest growing brands in the first half of the year. Besides Bud Light Lime they were: Michelob Ultra (5), Busch Light (6), Land Shark Lager (7), Bud Light Clamato (8), Michelob Golden Draft Light (12), Bacardi Silver (16), Bud Clamato (17) and Busch (19).

MillerCoors placed seven brands on the list, including three of the top five. They are: Coors Light (2), Keystone Light (3), Miller Chill (4), Blue Moon seasonals (5), Blue Moon Belgian White Ale (13), Coors Banquet (14) and Miller Genuine Draft Light (24).

Mexican imports had a strong showing: Tecate Light (18), Tecate (20), Modelo Especial (22), Coronita Extra (23) and Dos Equis (25).

Other brands on the top 25 include: Yuengling (10), Stella Artois (11), Heineken Premium Light (15) and Samuel Adams seasonal (21).

Blogged with the Flock Browser

It's HOT outside. You need a pool!

Because I am a dork, I captured the above screen shot. Because I am an interactive media nerd, I thought it was nice to see weather-triggered messaging used for something beyond tires, collision repair and allergy med companies . And because I am a beer fanatic, it kind of made me laugh. When I see that is going to be over near 100, or feel like over 100, the last thing I want to think about is beer. Even me! And I drink a lot of it! I know it is the whole angle of Miller Chill (refreshing, tropical vacation beer) and maybe this strikes a chord with the kind of people who drink beer outside when it is over 100 degrees. All it makes me think of is dehydration. I guess it really is true - I'm not in my twenties anymore.

Sorry for the lack of Watson's references to justify the title. It just keeps popping into my head.

Miller should call me

Can you say ouch? The poor CMO at Miller. That's cold.

When Crispin Porter & Bogusky President Jeff Hicks called Miller's CMO Randy Ransom to quit the brewer's advertising account last week, a surprised Mr. Ransom tried to talk the agency president out of resigning. "Is there anything we can do to stop this?" he asked. Mr. Hicks replied that he'd already issued a press release.

And now the marketing dept of SABMiller has to face distributors in Vegas without an agency, an ad strategy, or clever TV creative to get them excited about the brand, headed into peak beer sales season. I don't envy that.

They should give BARKLEY a call. That would be the coolest.

Maybe the buzziest isn't the best

Ad peeps already know this, but my beer peeps might not. The agency (Crispin, Porter & Bogusky) that has handled Miller Brewing's account for the past year or so, handling all of the Miller Lite and High Life work, quit. My summary is that basically the agency got sick of their creative being watered down by too many "approval processes" (and I am completely conjecturing here) and having all the teeth pulled out of a monster idea by a committee of brand people over at Miller. The problem is that while Man Laws were great fun, but didn't sell the beer. (Kind of a key issue in any advertising relationship.) The spots we've been seeing during the NCAA games, the ones that compare Miller Lite to the competitors, were actually made by Miller themselves. The High Life ads, with the gruff talking delivery truck driver revoking High Life privileges from places that charge $11.50 for a hamburger, are Crispin work, and unfortunately will die with this "F that account," announcement.

Ad people admire and want to be CP+B, for lots of reasons. They're creative, they're kooky, they get tons and tons of press, and they only have to exhale differently to set everyone to chattering about their model-breaking business. Today it is because most of us don't have the ability, the financial security, the chutzpah or the balls to tell a difficult client to shove off. (Assuming that Miller is actually a difficult client.) Ahh, to be an industry darling. Call it paranoia, but when someone is on top, the only long term direction I can see them heading in is down.

Full AdAge article here.

You're Pretty When I'm Drunk

I signed up to be a member of BeerAdvocate.com this week. Dear lord, how I love this site! It will inspire me for years. And in looking over our past beers, I realize that I needed the help. Some have been great, some have been horrific. I know. But I'm dealing with some demons here. I used to be a beer snob. Light anything was never good enough for me. Too bland, too nothing, too flavorless. And then I decided that I should go on a diet. And now I drink lights because I don't have the will power to only have one of anything. If I did, I would pick one excellent full bodied beer, and be happy. But that's not me. I'm still watching my oh-so-girlish figure, so I can't go all out for the gutsy, heavy, dark beers all of the time. And it's summer, so I automatically want something lighter and colder. But I just can't serve Miller or Bud around here any more. I just can't DO IT. So I'm taking baby steps into more exciting beer lands. This week's beer is what The Husband & I have been drinking all week at home.

According to the Boston Beer Company:
Sam Adams Light is not just a lighter version of Samuel Adams Boston Lager® but rather the culmination of over two years of tireless research and brewing trials to create a flavorful Light beer. And it has proved to be worth the wait. Brewed using only the finest two row malt and German Noble hops it has a smooth, complex roasted malt character that is superbly balanced with the subtle orange fruit notes of the Noble hops. Sam Adams Light® finishes crisp and smooth without any lingering bitterness, leaving you yearning for more.

In Beer Girl language, it's a light beer that tastes more like a real beer. It has flavor. Some light beer drinkers will not like that about this beer. But that's why I love it.

I'm going to try for a patriotic tie-in, what with this being the Fourth of July weekend & all. Here's my half assed attempt, in VH-1's This to That in So Many Steps Style.

San Adams used Ben Affleck as a celebrity spokesperson....Ben Affleck dated Jennifer Lopez....who was in The Wedding Planner with Fred Willard....who was in Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle with Jamie Kennedy...who starred in the Boiler Room with Sean Caan....son of James Caan...who was in Dick Tracy with Dustin Hoffman...who played in Rain Man...with Tom Cuise...who starred in Born on the Fourth of July!

See? sam Adams IS Patriotic. :) Happy Holiday Weekend!

Beer

That's a title of a song, but it's so generic, so I'm actually supplying the lyrics of the chorus:

If I get drunk well,
I'll pass out on the floor now, baby
you won't bother me no more
if you're drinkin', well,
you know that you're my friend
and I say I think i'll have myself a beer.

Sounds like a Friday kind of song to me.

I think we'll need a light beer for heavy drinking.
The positives - Light feeling, crisp, defined as 'refreshing.' MUST be served ice cold. Also nice for those on diets.
The negatives - Can be bland, either feel flat or overly fizzy, horrible when served near room temp. Not as satisfying as 'bigger' beers.

I'd like to be more interesting, and offer up a Sam Adams Light, Amstel Light, or something other than the big 3's versions. But I've got to be honest. And honestly, I drink a lot of Miller Lite. I think it has more flavor than Bud Light, even though The Husband will contest this hotly at any point.

Glass bottles are my favorite for this beer, so that's what you're getting today. Drink up boys & girls. It's after noon, and almost officially the weekend.