Advertising in a Recession: Miller High Life’s One Second Superbowl Ad

By Ben Haber

February 2nd, 2009

According to Miller High Life, “Spending $3 million for a 30-second commercial just doesn’t make sense. We’re keeping it short and simple.”

While a one-second ad may seem odd at first, this advertising strategy was actually quite brilliant. Consider:

1. Everyone is already familiar with the Miller High Life ‘guy’ so when the commercial appeared it was obvious what it was for.
2. When the media learned about a 1-second Superbowl ad there was an automatic ‘buzz-worthy’ story to it.
3. Superbowl commercials are not just made for the Superbowl anymore, they’re made to become viral videos and push viewers to a Web site.

So while Miller High Life was spending just a fraction of the $3 million (a still hefty $100,000) for their 1-second of attention, they were using that second to pull hundreds of thousands of visitors online, which is where they really wanted them anyway.  And, once they’re online Miller High Life had their potential customer’s complete attention.

Whether this is advertising in a recession or just plain creative advertising, there is no doubt that Miller High Life is thinking of new ways to attract attention, and in just one second created one of the more entertaining and conversation-provoking commercials of the night.

Entry Filed under: Branding & Advertising