US: Miller Lite takes on rivals in latest campaign

Miller Brewing has launched a fresh US television campaign that promotes flagship brand Miller Lite as "better beer".

The brewer, the US arm of SABMiller, is running a series of ads that focuses more on the "intrinsic values" of Miller Lite to differentiate the beer from rival brands Bud Light and Coors Light.

"We've taken a hard right turn back to the core essence of Miller Lite and we want to differentiate it as a better beer," a Miller spokesman told just-drinks today (16 March).

The spokesman said the ads would compare Miller Lite to the light offerings from Anheuser-Busch and Coors Brewing. He said Miller is looking to emphasise the differences between the products, including the fact that Miller Lite includes half the carbs as Bud Light.

The spokesman said: "It's not the rage that it was a few years ago, but people are still concerned about carb counts for beer."

Light beer sales remain in growth in the US, although mainstream domestic brewers are facing growing competition from craft brewers and imported light beers, like Heineken Premium Light.

The Miller spokesman acknowledged that Heineken Premium Light had "made a great splash" in the US but was unconcerned about the creeping competition.

He said: "The good news is that the light beer segment is growing so it's not a zero-sum game in this category. Also, I dispute the view in the media and among some analysts that imported light beers and craft lights are better beers than American lights. American beers are light and refreshing by design because that's what American drinkers want."

The Miller Lite campaign made its TV debut yesterday during coverage of the NCAA college basketball tournament.