Jason Witten: Retired football player, newest Miller Lite beer delivery guy. (For one Sunday, at least.)
For the first time in 15 years, the retired Dallas tight end won’t be spending his fall Sundays on a football field. Instead, to kick off the season, Witten partnered with Miller Lite to surprise a few selected diehard Dallas football fans with delivery of his favorite beer and “The Only Beer of the Dallas Cowboys,” his former team.
On a Sunday afternoon in late August, Witten dropped in on three separate viewing parties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with a cooler filled with cold Miller Lite in hand. Although the fans knew they were being filmed by Miller Lite, they had no idea Witten would be involved.
“He was wearing a hat and a Miller Lite beer delivery shirt, and until you see his face, you couldn’t really tell it was him,” says Caroline Flood, associate marketing manager for Miller Lite. “But once they saw his face, their reactions were priceless: ‘Oh my gosh, Jason Witten is in my house! We just drank a Miller Lite with Jason Witten!’”
Miller Lite captured video of his surprise deliveries below:
The brand kicked off its football-centric campaign starring Witten this week, which will be targeted at a national audience, with an additional emphasis on Dallas-area football fans. Miller Lite also will be releasing shorter versions of the video that will run online and on social channels surrounding football games, Flood says.
While Witten spent 15 years playing in Dallas, he’s a well-known national figure, ranking second all-time in career receptions and receiving yards by a professional tight end at the time of his retirement this year. He’ll use that platform this season, signing on to work Monday Night Football games as an analyst for ESPN.
Miller Lite created the promotion to “celebrate and reward fans who hold true and don’t compromise on their love of the game, their team and their beer,” Flood says. “When it comes to football, across everything we do, we want to show fans that we understand their passion for the game because we’re just as big of a fan as they are.”
The video, which launched yesterday, was highlighted in a handful of media outlets yesterday, including 247Sports, the Dallas Morning News, and in a video posted by Blogging the Boys.
In addition to the social and digital spots, Witten will be featured in local advertising in the Dallas area, including as a local spokesman for Miller Lite. He’ll also be on retail point-of-sale materials and on other videos that will air in the metro area throughout the season.