Miller Lite - Bad $#!T to Good $#!T / Women's history month (2023)

For women's history month, Miller Lite turns "Bad $#!T to Good $#!T" and over-uses the bleep button. It's not like last year, when they celebrated the United States first female brewer by featuring her on a limited edition can, which the sales of also donated to brewsters in the industry around the United States. I thought that was a nice move, with an educational side to it. 
Here instead, we have comedian Ilana Glazer from "Broad City" as the spokesperson informing us that Miller Lite are on a mission of turning old bad sexist beer ads into good beer, via the fertilizer which they of course call "shit". And they bleep that shit.

Adland readers know by now that I am a huge dedicated beer fan, so I've rolled my eyes plenty of times at the sexist and annoyingly bad beer ads that have seen the light of day and keep a special hatred for the "Swedish Bikini team" in my heart as it came out swinging hoping to make fun of it all by adding even more ridiculous stereotypes and sexy babes to the campaign, but soon actually evolved into what it was mocking. I think we can blame the audience and media back then for that. 

So, it is as a beer fan and the target market that I say, this fails on a single level. The tone of voice. Look, it's pretty funny as a concept to make good dirt out of bad ads and make better beer from the hops grown in that dirt. I'm with you so far, but as Ilana walks into frame her tone is a lot like the "achtually" meme. "Here's a little-known fact, women were among the very first, to brew beer, ever." Really, Sherlock, who was the others "among the very first" do you think? Quite possibly, men. But yes, it's a well-known historical fact that when it came to making things to eat and drink, most of the time women were the ones doing it, in all sorts of historical societies around the world. That first line feels lecturing, rather than informing. 

Her opening line would have been much better had she just said, "back in Mesopotamia, women brewed beer, and today, women still brew beer", and everyone would agree that indeed we do, and some might go "Wow, didn't know that about Mesopotamia, cool." To then add the "funny" language on top, just saying bleeps because you're bleeping strikes me as possibly even more laddish than the "tastes great - less filling / Catfight" campaign. It's just got this "I'm cooler than thou" douchebag vibe. Douchebags are never cool. If copywriters and comedians stopped swearing they'd actually have to write something funny for once. Can't have that. Bleeping words is so cliché.

(Interestingly Adland's formerly favorite brewery who once made a campaign fully of sexual innuendo for "Bishops Finger" which was deemed "too raunchy" is now also hailing the women who created beer on their website, so this seems to be a strategy many felt the beer world has been ready for, but I digress.)

Client: Molson Coors
CCO: Michelle St. Jacques
Senior director of marketing: Elizabeth Hitch

GLOBAL VP, MILLER FAMILY OF BRANDS: Sofia Colucci
ASSOCIATE MARKETING MANAGER: Kelsey Ott

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, DDB WORLDWIDE: Ari Weiss
FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN: Luis Miguel Messianu
CO-PRESIDENT & CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: Alvar Suñol
VP, EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Jorge Murillo
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Christian Liu
ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Maia Swift
ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Luis Nunez
ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Martin DeFerrari
ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Vanessa Castaneda
COPYWRITER: Raquel Chisholm

EVP, OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTION: Michelle Headley
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION: Yeyo Marquez
SR. PRODUCER: Mimi Cossio
PRODUCER: Rudy Leschhorn
SR. BUSINESS MANAGER: Candy Cabrera
DR. OF BUSINESS AFFAIRS: Rosi Pratts

GROUP ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Karen Udler
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Jose Hawayek
ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR: Stephanie Albrecht

VP, DIGITAL CONTENT & EXPERIENCE STRATEGY: Michael Sotelo
TEAM LEAD: ASSOCIATE CONTENT CREATOR: Michelle Robles
SR. MANAGER, CONTENT & EXPERIENCE STRATEGY: Rosaura Yapur

STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Mauricio Cadena
ASSOCIATE STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTOR: Felipe Diaz-Arango

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER: Victoria Lutgring
COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR: Martha Castro

PRODUCTION COMPANY: STRIKE ANYWHERE
DIRECTOR: PETE MARQUIS

PR AGENCY: ICF Next
MEDIA AGENCY: Connect
SOCIAL AGENCY: VOLT