Life After the 1 Second Pitch

January 21, 2009 · Comments

Miller High Life ad

In the “even Joseph Jaffe couldn’t have predicted this” column, Miller Brewing has announced that they’re going to do a series of 30 one-second advertisements for their SuperBowl spot on Feb 1.

You can view the ads here.

Brilliant idea. But then again, I’m competing with them. (No, not really).

Is it a brilliant idea? Or is it just me? And what about the CONTENT of the ad? I’m a bit, um, hmm… isn’t this 2009? Didn’t we just see change? Is anyone even a “little bit” tweaked by the portrayal of our actor? Or am I being sensitive?

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  • I really like this idea - it's basically Twitter to classic TV ads. And I do think you're being sensitive; in fact, I'm not sure where your objection comes from (although as a white male I'm well aware that I'm running with blinders). They're good-natured, good-humored ("happy can", hee), effective ads.
  • These are brilliant. Short enough to catch the attention. Are they going to be dispersed throughout the other commercials during the Superbowl?
  • I wouldn't say it's brilliant. If anything I'd say it is derivative from Brion Gysin's cutup work. Like audio sampling in hip-hop, this campaign is a straight lift from Brion's experiments. However Brion was doing this stuff in the '50s.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brion_Gysin

    interesting find..thanks for sharing.

    sean808080
    http://sean808080.com
  • Part of the change we can all hope for is a movement away from viewing everything in its pejorative sense.

    That said, I would have found the ad more humorous had it played up on stereotypes I grew up with. Like a confused old NH farmer in a plaid shirt and overalls who doesn't understand what the SuperBowl is and the prompter spends 29 seconds trying to explain it only to have the guy comprehend the concept in the final second after downing a line of Miller's.
  • This is a brilliant idea. I think the creators of these ads have a secondary purpose and that is to do something unique that will be talked about. The game is not for 11 more days and you are blogging about it as I am sure many others will both before and after the game. Would they have got this attention with a regular 30 second spot? Not unless it was a truly brilliant commercial, something that is extremely difficult to create.

    The content here is almost irrelevant. it is the delivery mechanism that is ground breaking. Great viral marketing.
  • Rick__S
    Great ads -- unique, funny, cutting edge, evoke the curiosity of the consumer (a powerful emotion)!
  • Ron
    I think it is funny, but will probably not change anyone's life. (Or create many sales)
  • 1-sec ads: cool
    Content: disappointing
  • The question is, does it make me want to drink Miller beer? Answer, no. As a brand gal, consumer, SuperBowl watcher, does it make me like the Miller beer brand? Answer, yes. Will I post it on my Facebook page to share the creativity, yes. So, "is it good depends" on what Miller hopes to accomplish. If only I knew what "pejorative" meant in Sam's post, perhaps I could written a more insightful reply, but I don't have time to google the definition. Thanks for sharing all this, Chris.
    @bcavanaugh
  • Well, it's something new. Will it pick up steam? No. But it will be talked about and be worth much more to them than the money that they are saving. :-)
  • I used to scoff at Miller High Life. It was the beer you drank in junior high because that's all your dad kept in the refrigerator. But, every since they rolled out this character back in Sept/Oct, I have ordered a Miller High Life on several occasions (see. Twice) just to reenact some of the commercials and get a laugh from my group of peers.

    I'm not buying it by the case, but I'm a lot closer than I ever was when I thought this was my dad's beer.

    I love this 1-second idea, but I really like the guy they cast in these spots.
  • The 1st view will catch many by surprise. It will cause us viewers to wait with anticipation for the next 1 second.

    Will it cause people to run out and buy some? Maybe
    Will it cause people to talk about the ads? Yes
    Will it raise brand awareness? Yes
    Will it increase sales? Probably.

    Sunny D is a disgusting and nutritionally deficient drink yet it has been on supermarket shelves for years and consumers keep buying it. The only reason we know about it is through advertising.
  • EXCELLENT idea on the part of whoever is behind it. I GUARANTEE it will produce more word of mouth than any other ads.

    The actor is charming and funny.

    I'm not a Miller drinker, but if I were (on Superbowl day), these ads would make me want to run to the store during halftime!
  • Innovative! Talk about creating brand awareness. However, I've the same curiosity as a previous poster regarding the scheduling of the commercials' air times. Assuming they are scattered throughout commercial breaks, I have two concerns: 1) it will be easy to miss a second-long commercial, and 2) even if the telly has the viewer's full attention, the product may fly over heads initially. Although, if they are packed into a small enough slot, though, viewers will eventually keep an eye out for them to see what the deal is. I'm eager to see the reaction to these ads!
  • I think it is an interesting approach. I'd be most intrigued to see how they are getting the TV folks to insert a 1 sec ad -- considering it isn't a standard unit. Guessing this is really about pushing the viral, especially as some of the 1-second spots on the site are actually 2-4 seconds long.. so obviously those are not running as one second spots in the Super Bowl. None-the-less, they've done a nice job of extending a great brand character into a space where he can really be funny and engaging.

    Still not likely to make me want to buy their beer, but then I liked the Lizards too and never bought a Bud.
  • Brilliant, as evidenced by this post.
  • I see what you mean by tweaked. I had the same feeling when I saw the "Five-Dollar Footlong" Subway commercials with the three construction workers singing the jingle and doing the dance. But then I laughed. That's my measure of offensiveness most times. If it's funny, it passes. The Miller ad is funny. I could just as easily picture Kevin James from "King of Queens" doing the ad.
  • Duval Guillaume (probably the best ad agency in Belgium) already did 1 second spots for a breath mint in 2005! So no, this is not revolutionary...

    http://www.onesecond.be/
    http://www.duvalguillaume.com/
  • I like these 1 sec ads, thought they were creative, and more importantly funny. But I thought they were funny because I was already familiar with his roles in previous ads which were very funny. My familiarity with the lead character makes it work for me.
  • I love it.......................:)
  • That's so great! I have to blog about this. I love that the guy is just so normal. A guy who just loves his beer and wants to spread the word.

    Do you think they'll be successful in banning the $3m ads? I think as long as corporations have money they'll spend big, at least until New Marketing Labs gets ahold of them!
  • I agree these are great. I'm kind of surprised they were able to get away with this. Excited to see how they turn out. Is this the first brand to do 1 second ads?
  • Innovative, fresh, catch. Gets your attention even try's to push buttons. The content is not great but the way to manage the medium is unique and smart.
  • I can't believe the Champagne of Beers doesn't just sell itself.
  • Katy
    I agree, this has turned into a great viral campaign! I'm going to share it on Facebook as well. And I'm wondering if the character from this ad is Tweeting? Anyone see anything related on Twitter?
  • I really like this idea and is bringing the ridiculousness of a $3 million dollar spend on a 30-sec commercial to a broader audience. Definitely agree with a lot of comments showing a similarity to twitter. I still feel as though companies have to think differently about how they spend their ad dollars in this economy. I can't remember a Super Bowl commercial from two years ago, but I will remember that I bought my recent jacket off Tramdock cause they engaged me through a medium I use everyday (again, twitter).
  • Cool Idea. I did not get the content. Seems disjointed.
    Maybe 5 seconds could work better for continuity.
    Love the the out of the box thinking!
  • Must comment on this one too Chris ;-) I think you're asking about implicit racial issues you might sense in the commercial? I don't get that at all from the clips. I think the reason he got cast for this MHL series in the first place is because he's got an awesome character (boisterous, blunt, loud, no-messin'-around), and this is an extension of that. I crack up!

    Of course, maybe that's me not bring very sensitive.

    On another note, I've been really interested in what companies are going to do with limited resources for the Superbowl this year.... I think this is a great idea.
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