brand trainwrecks
Posted by Abe Sauer on September 14, 2009 11:07 AM
The return of football (American Football!) means a new season of beer commercials. But so far this year, it seems only one brand, Bud Lite, is trying something new—and it's very, very unfortunate.
Coors Light is sticking with its ads that insert funny (not really!) commentary from Coors drinkers into historic post-game press conferences with famous NFL coaches. Herm Edwards is a new addition.
Meanwhile, Miller is again trotting out its "Common Sense" campaign featuring a charismatic Miller High Life delivery guy who re-appropriates Miller from uppity, conceited locations like nightclubs and private stadium skyboxes. Maybe this year’s outrage over AIG, bailouts for the rich, and executive pay will make Miller’s populist message seem not as patronizing and anti-intellectual as it did last year.
And then there is Bud Lite and its "Tailgate Approved" campaign. Featuring a hyperactive pitchman named Jimmy Football, these ads take on an as-seen-on-TV informercial quality, pitching Bud Lite as if it were Sham-Wow! or OxiClean. Certainly (hopefully!) this campaign was devised well before the recent death of legendary pitchman Billy Mays, who Jimmy Football, in his blue shirt and manic animated actions, is clearly meant to evoke. This makes Bud Lite's commercials at best unfortunately coincidental, at worst insulting. And they will be running for the next six months.
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