The skateboarder begins at a bodega in Pilsen, a neighborhood on Chicago’s Near South Side, where he grabs a 12-pack of Miller Lite and heads for the door. He zooms by the artist Lefty, who’s completing a piece of street art with a Miller Lite can at its center.
From there, it’s up the stairs to the "L", where he winds his way northwest through the city, ending in West Town where his pals are hanging on a porch, drinking Miller Lite. A voiceover chimes in: “Chicago, you've got great taste. Thanks for making us your No. 1 beer."
It ends with the text, "Here’s to you Chicago.”
The television ad, which has begun airing in Chicago, is a thank you letter of sorts to the nation’s 3rd-largest city for making it far and away its top-selling beer.
“We have a lot of love for Chicago, and we have a really compelling story here,” says Brittany Lanier, an associate marketing manager for Miller Lite. “It’s the No. 1 beer in Chicago — by far — and we want to thank the city for that.”
In Chicago bars and restaurants, Miller Lite sales volume outpaced its next-closest competitor, Bud Light, by more than 170 percent, according to Nielsen data for the 52 weeks ended April 21. Grocery stores in the city sold more than two times more Miller Lite than Bud Light over the same period, the data show.
The TV spot will air through the end of 2018, and possibly into next year, Lanier says. It will be accompanied by short animated films that will air on social and online channels.
Miller Lite also has expanded its “Know Your Beer” promotional campaign into Chicago with billboards and other out-of-home advertising touting that, based on data collected from the Know Your Beer experience, seven out of 10 drinkers in Chicago agree: Miller Lite has more taste than Bud Light.