Doggin' 'Em: New Miller TV Spot Spoofs A-B Dalmatian Commercial

Miller "is reviving a strategy of putting its beer in aggressive head-to-head comparisons" against Anheuser-Busch, according to Jeremiah McWilliams of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. A 30-second spot, "Dalmatian," which ran yesterday on Fox and NBC during NFL games and is scheduled to air during "Monday Night Football" tonight on ESPN and during NASCAR races, "spoofs a recent Super Bowl ad" from A-B.  In that spot, A-B "went for drinkers' soft side by featuring a forlorn and dirt-splattered puppy whose mud spots let him pass as a Dalmatian, earning him a parade ride on the Budweiser beer wagon." In Miller's new commercial, an actual Dalmatian rides on an "unidentified beer wagon pulled by Clydesdales."  The wagon then pulls next to a Miller tractor-trailer whose  lettering reads, "Miller Lite has more taste than Bud Light. Half the carbs of Bud Light." The dog "can't resist" and jumps into the Miller truck. A-B VP/Marketing David Peacock said in a statement, "Regardless of any competitor's actions, we remain focused on raising the image of beer" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 11/3).