30 x :01 > $3 million

I love the recent news about Miller High Life’s sales going up as a result of their 1 second ads.

It’s proof that while good ole’ traditional tv advertising may not be dead, smart, inventive tv advertising is alive and well. The big ad agencies can create all of the consumer validated packaged goods crap they want; I don’t think tv advertising will ever go away, primarily because of terrific thinking like this.

You’ve probably seen the Miller High Life 1-second ads, but if not, you should. They’re just plain fun. And extremely successful.

They didn’t get there by luck. They wouldn’t exist if not for the well-established, clever campaign starring the Miller High Life delivery guy that’s been running for a while. This is one of my favorites. It’s a wonderful, insightful commentary on sports and the corporate world, and it sells the product.



That’s a hard working ad.

So now they take those ads to the next level. The idea of 1 second ads is absurd, but the truth is, it’s more about the buzz vs. the ads themselves. Especially when the campaign is touted as a better way to spend money than the $3 million they would have had to spend to get national presence on the Super Bowl. It’s the publicity they were after, and publicity they got. Before and after the Super Bowl.

Oh, that and a whole lot of sales.

You can talk drinkability, and you can talk frost brewing and cold mountains, and I’m sure consumers told Bud and Coors that they want to hear about that stuff.

But it’s fresh, unexpected Ideas that connect people to brands and convince them to form relationships with brands. It’s hard for a consumer to articulate that. Luckily, it’s real easy to watch 1 second ads.

Let's hear it for the Nobodies

I have one thing and one thing only to say about the Super Bowl advertising because I’ve heard and talked and read enough about it.

Bravo to the nobodies from nowhere, the unemployed Herbert brothers from Batesville, Ohio, who bested the behemoths of advertising to capture the coveted top prize in the USA Today Ad Meter. Bob Lachky may jokingly say that he wants a recount, but with Bud’s streak being broken at 10, you know he’s not a happy guy. Same with the bosses at Pepsi who expected to come out on top and be showered with all of the bonus PR.

And their agencies aren't feeling too hot either.

For good measure, let’s watch again, and enjoy the never-gets-old comedic power of a crystal ball in the nuts. Watch and learn, ad guys. Watch and learn.