Chill out

I haven’t seen ads for Miller’s new beer, which is called Chill, but I’m guessing by the variety of venues that the brewing giant’s distribution machine is placing it in that they’re giving it a big push. Curiosity led me to a brief Google search, which landed on the Wikipedia entry. That reads in part:

After blowing through sales and distribution targets in … test markets, Miller announced on April 17, 2007 that Miller Chill will be available nationally. As of July 2007 the product is in full national distribution.

I know that marketers write Wikipedia entries for their clients’ products, but seriously, could this be any more transparently phony? Oh it blew through sales and distribution targets, did it? And how do you know that, you super-impressed Wikipedia contributor, you? Interesting that you would state this with such certainty — and yet not reveal either what those targets were, or what the sales were. Interesting also that the only two cited sources for the entry are both something called Brewblog, “Miller Brewing Company’s official blog.”

Actually there’s a “marketing” section in the entry:

Miller Chill’s marketing taps into the consumer trend of “Latinization” in the United States – the mix of contemporary American and Mexican cultures. This mix of cultural influences is played up throughout the beer’s advertising, created by Young & Rubicam Chicago. This is especially apparent in the playful use of Spanglish in its advertising, which positions the brand as the perfect refreshment for “wherever and whenever things get hot.”

Yeah, great job Y&R! That ad strategy sounds fantastic! You should send your clients this evidence of the grass-roots appreciation for your work!

Update (7/18): The Miller Chill entry on Wikipedia has been edited since this post went up. Thinking ahead, I have screen shots of what it said before some of the quoted material above was toned down. The quotes here were accurate when this was first posted.