Dive Brief:

• Miller Lite is resurrecting a decades-old “Great Taste, Less Filling” campaign, seeking to tug on consumer nostalgia, according to a press release. 
• The creative features a number of famed athletes coming out of retirement to debate Miller Lite’s best qualities, echoing ads that first started airing in the ‘70s. In a 60-second spot launching today around the NCAA March Madness tournament titled “Destiny,” former NFL defensive end J.J. Watt finds the retiree life unfulfilling and is called upon to take on the mantle of Miller Lite All Star.
• Additional installments build out the story with other sports ambassadors, including David Ortiz, Jorge Posada, Reggie Miller and Mia Hamm. Miller Lite is underscoring the retro themes through a promotion that centers on VHS tapes and a partnership with the last surviving Blockbuster location. 

Dive Insight:

Miller Lite’s latest marketing effort comes with a generous pour of nostalgia, harkening back to TV commercials that helped introduce the brand nationally to consumers in 1975. The original ads, which pitted famous faces in spirited debate over whether the brew’s best quality is its taste or lightness, were a foundational moment for a product that is viewed as effectively inventing the light beer category. 

In line with past iterations of “Great Taste, Less Filling,” the modernized campaign is led by a cast of retirees from sports including football, baseball, soccer and basketball, while actor Luke Wilson plays a role as an intermediary who tries to find a middle ground in the taste-versus-filling debate. Publicis agency Leo Burnett spearheaded the creative. 

Nostalgia remains a popular marketing tactic for brands that hope legacy and an entrenchment in consumer culture can spur more sales and boost affinity. Those are important goals for beer brands to meet as beverage tastes, particularly among young cohorts, shift to other options like wine, seltzer and ready-to-drink cocktails. 

Miller Lite parent Molson Coors has been trying to capitalize on stumbles by its chief rival Anhesuer-Busch InBev by ramping up marketing investments. Coors Light in February ran a splashy Super Bowl campaign that similarly called back to an older creative concept: the beer’s frosty silver bullet train.

In addition to the new ads rolling out for March Madness, Miller Lite is running a sweepstakes around Beer Tapes, a novelty item inspired by video-rental days of yore. Beer Tapes include an actual VHS paired with a tape-shaped novelty glass, building on Miller Lite’s history of doling out oddball collectibles that double as drinking vessels. The VHS comes with an interactive experience that lets viewers get in on the “Great Taste, Less Filling” discourse. 

"Miller Lite launched the Light beer category with this iconic debate that has remained unanswered, and we want to continue the conversation for years to come," said Ann Legan, vice president of marketing for Miller Family at Molson Coors, in a statement. "Now with the help of a new generation of All Stars and the nostalgic and drinkable VHS Beer Tapes, fans can proclaim their loyalty to their favorite side of the debate by scanning their very own Beer Tapes and locking in their answer, Great Taste, or Less Filling"

Rounding out the physical media throwback element is a tie-up with the last remaining Blockbuster in operation. Interested consumers can trek to the store in Bend, Oregon, on March 28 to acquire a Beer Tape in person. While Blockbuster’s business collapse is infamous, its final outpost has become something of fixation point for marketers.