Tuesday’s ad is for “Miller Lite,” from the 1980s. This ad was made for the Miller Brewing Co., and was part of their long-running “Tastes Great!…Less Filling!” advertising campaign. It was created in 1973 by the McCann-Erickson Worldwide ad agency and was ranked by Advertising Age magazine as the eighth best advertising campaign in history. They were primarily television commercials but they did create print ads to support the TV spots. They began with a trend of using former athletes along with a few notable celebrities that continued throughout the campaign. This one features a celebrity roster of former Lite Beer personalities posing as two bowling teams with the tagline “Lite Beer: The Winner in Any League.” I count at least 22 people in the ad, although I suspect part of the ad is cut off since it feels like something may be missing. I don’t know everyone in the photo, but I do see Bubba Smith, Ray Nitschke, Dick Butkus, Ben Davidson, Truman Capote, John Madden, Rodney Dangerfield, and Boog Powell. Who else do you see?
Here’s a better image of the assembled folks.
