Miller Lite pouring free beer in splashy new ad campaign

Miller Time is back – provided you put your phone down.

The brand is bringing back its longtime slogan in a new marketing campaign directed at younger beer drinkers.

“Today’s drinkers are absorbed in their smartphones,” said marketing director Courtney Benedict in a MillerCoors “Beyond the Beer” post. “They have friends online with whom they’ve never shared a beer, and they spend too much time watching other peoples’ lives online instead of living their own.”

American adults spent one hour and 14 minutes per day on social media, according to eMarketer.

To inspire its beer lovers to change that, Miller Lite says it's going dark on social media and wants customers to follow suit.

The number of Miller Lite’s Instagram follower count at the time of the announcement – 118,000 – can receive a free beer by unfollowing the brand. Miller Lite claims to be the first major brand to ask consumers to unfollow their social media channels in favor of making real-life connections.

Miller Lite is also rolling out the new ad campaign on television with its first spot reportedly slated to debut during Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday.

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“We understand it’s risky for a brand today to say that we want you to unfollow us on social media when it’s one of the many ways we stay in touch with beer drinkers. But we value those in-person connections and are committed to inspiring people to do the same, even if that means losing a few followers along the way.” 

- Anup Shah, Vice President MillerCoors

Miller Lite passed Budweiser to become America’s third best-selling beer brand in 2017, according to AdAge.

The maker of Miller Lite says the original light beer has gained market share in its segment for 17 consecutive quarters.

MillerCoors is the U.S. subsidiary of Molson Coors.

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