Today’s New York Times (free registration) has still another story about an advertising effort from a large brewer, in this case Miller Brewing, that takes the high (brow) road: “Beer Ads That Ditch the Bikinis, but Add Threads of Thought.”

Erv Frederick, the vice president for marketing at Miller, says that the company “wanted to move beyond that stereotype of men as sophomoric” or as “the lowest common denominator.”

“We’re trying to position it as a smarter, more intelligent light beer,” he said.

Certainly it’s good to move advertising beyond the lowest common denominator, and to have commercials that show people having real conversations - the idea of “beer in context.”

But don’t lose sight of the fact these are commercials promote Miller Lite. Don’t believe it leads to intelligent conversation any more than a cask-conditioned pint of Crouch Vale Brewers Gold in an English pub, a half liter of Mahr’s Hell in a cafe in Bamberg, or a shaker of Steam at Turtle Mountain Brewing in Rio Rancho, N.M.

These are still advertisements about a lifestyle - and what a curious lifestyle those “Catfight” commercials presented - rather than beer.

Posted: May 1st, 2006 under Beer culture.