Miller Chill's Summer Serenade

New Spot Featuring Track by The Dodos Makes Appeal for Lime in Your Brew

Posted by Charlie Moran on 05.08.09 @ 01:28 PM

We've recently re-entered modern society with a cable TV subscription once again -- did you know Time Warner charges for remote controls? -- and we've come to the conclusion that most of the programming we're paying for is this Miller Chill ad in HD.

Really not such a bad thing, though. Not only does it actually make me want to drink this light beer even though I've had it before and can't handle fruit in my pint, but the track from The Dodos in the spot is a perfect mix of lush natural sounds and electric urgency that syncs flawlessly with the visuals.

Marketers take a lot of (not entirely unjustified) heat for merely slapping cool tracks onto spots as an afterthought, but "Fools" is tightly woven into the action here. The quickly strummed acoustic chords and clickety-clackety rhythm follow the flowing suds and passing bottles until halfway in, when the energy picks up and electric guitar slices through and bottle caps start popping spontaneously.

With rare exceptions -- like Heineken's new, awesome ad with Biz Markie's "Just a Friend," which also has a great soundtrack to thank -- it's not often you get a winning emotional appeal in a beer ad, much less one with nicely framed product shots like this. It's a warm paen to the summer months ahead, and, just as crucially, a perfect exercise in beer porn.

The spot was created by Saatchi & Saatchi, who won even more MillerCoors accounts during a consolidation last month.