Miller Lite Drafts Nascar, CART Idols For New Round of Prime Time, Net - Brief Article

Brandweek, Feb 5, 2001 by Mike Beirne

Miller Lite goes digital big time with an auto racing-themed promotion supported by four new TV spots, a sweepstakes, a virtual racing league and 9 million CD-ROMs slapped in specially marked 12 and 18 packs.

Facing slipping sales and a 31.4% drop in net income for its most recent quarter, the brewer is looking to spur sales with its first foray into prime time TV since 1997 and a tie-in with the increasingly popular sport of auto racing.

Miller Lite's new spots break during the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18 on Fox. Lite tries to tap into racing fans' love for their sport and tries appealing to the casual observer with one spot showing fast cars and drivers risking their lives at every turn.

Track signage posts the promo's "Taste the Victory" tagline. A second ad, "Heroes," highlights the difference between race fans and followers of other sports with the fans stating, "My heroes don't hit homers ... don't score touchdowns ... don't do Smack-down."

A third, dubbed "Power of Race Car," features Nascar driver Rusty Wallace and his team pulling the tarp of No.2 to unveil the updated all-navy racing scheme.

Lite also flags its CART sponsorship by showing driver Max Papis racing around the track. "I know what you want; you want a kiss," he says. "But not today," as he zips away from the wall safely down the straightaway Outdoor, radio and print also are in the mix. Ogilvy & Mather, New York, handles.

The Miller Lite Virtual Racing League, designed by Red Sky Interactive, San Francisco, and the Penske Racing Team, bows in a series of six-week racing seasons throughout the year and will be accessible via on-pack VIP Hard Card CD-ROMs and Millerbrewing.com.

Those CD-ROMs feature stats on the racers and grant access to food, drink and interactive booths at the Miller Lite Racing Garage--two trailers that will appear at more than 30 racing venues through March starting with Daytona.

Online and event promos coming afterward will make the CD worth holding onto through the racing season.

The instant win sweep dangles a trip to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and a racing date with Rusty Wallace. Zipatoni, St. Louis, handles the promo.

Game players pick their drivers (generic choices like 10-year veteran or hot rookie), crew chief and other settings within the confines of virtual sponsorship dollars they receive before the race weekends. Players can set up their own league or vie with competitors on the Internet.

Top finishers at the end of six weeks can win racing jackets, scanners and DVD players. Winners at season's end get to be in Wallace's pit during a race and visit the Playboy mansion.

The promo comes as Miller Lite shipments slipped 0.3% to 16.2 million barrels between 1999 to 2000, while Miller Brewing overall saw a 4% decline to 42.4 million barrels, per Beer Marketer's Insights.

The Philip Morris unit already is in the throes of re-energizing its distribution network and sales force with mandates like Retail Thursdays, requiring sales reps to call on their front-line accounts.

Beginning second quarter, Miller Lite buys prime time network for the first time since 1997, when spending was $149.5 million.

Lite will keep its sport slots for ads skewing toward 21-29 year-old males, including buys on XFL and World Wrestling Federation. Cable TV buys, on track for a $20 million spend last year, will jump five-fold this year.

Miller Lite spent $71.3 million January-October 2000, per Competitive Media Reporting.