Miller Chill Catches a Draft

Toronto – Canada

The international beer game is slowly being controlled by two giant conglomerates – Ab Inbev and Sab Miller. Despite the veneer of fun and parties these two companies paint over their beer brands, the peddling of barley mixes is serious business. This might be the reason why those malted beverages that still operate independently are the ones with the most authentic personality. While, I still enjoy my historic european brews, its the small brewers that really have a complex blend of originality.

Remember, no drinking and driving.

In Toronto we have a local brewer under the name of the Steamwhistle Brewery. They are a staple of the Toronto beer environment that has fought hard for its place in the Toronto pint glass. Steamwhistle started off with a grassroots marketing campaign and marked its products with a tasteful, light green colour, this included delivery trucks, logos, beers and packaging. It was a kind of “smashable” which made its products unique and noticeable almost instantaneously. Steamwhistle’s identity has been closely tied with this type of branding.

Now let us look at the opposite side of the spectrum. We have the corporate brands that make very bland beer and appeal to drinkers through commercials and scenes of “good times”. Now I must admit that I really wholeheartedly enjoy big beer brand marketing. It is one of my favourites and in my opinion one of the funnest – I just dislike most of the beer.

Case in point, Miller Lite. This brand has tried to diversify its products by branching into the hybrid beer business. One of its newest additions is Miller Chill. A light lime beer that is meant to attract hesitant beer drinkers into the world of suds. It is a valiant effort to diversify a stagnant beer portfolio.

Made from recycled glass and ideas

In an effort to market this beer, Miller, perhaps unwittingly, stole a chapter from Steamwhistle’s playbook. Riding around Toronto, Miller now has new Jeep Navigators painted lime green, with fake wood paneling on the side. An interesting blend of cross promotion with a little retro inauthenticity.

Now contrast this with Steamwhistle, a company that has actual retro rides, and has been using similar colours and themes for years. Seeing Miller’s lime green jeep revealed that they are wearing all the right clothes, but they aren’t really at the party. Similar to the fake wood paneling on the side of their new jeep, the image created around the brand is not authentic.

However Steamwhistle can take solace in that – imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…