Cheers

I do my best not disparage other people's creative output. I understand the difficulties of guiding an idea through the corporate labyrinth of stupid, CYA careerism. It's easy to create a TV commercial, it's a lot harder to get one approved.

And so I'm not going to slam the new slew of spots for Miller High Life.

Nor am I holding back for some kind of hidden agenda or hope that I'll ever land a freelance gig at the Philadelphia agency that produced them. I looked at their website and they all seem be about 16 years old. And look far too cheery to have spent any considerable time in the business. Much less, feel inclined to ever reach out to an old-timer like me.

I'm restraining myself because I know how high the bar was for the team or teams who are following in the footsteps of perhaps the greatest TV campaign ever produced.

In my eyes, at least.

I have written glowingly about the early 90's work done by Jeff Kling, Errol Morris and gang. They produced more than 50 spots. And each is a study in wit, wisdom and craftsmanship.

It's a shame and a mystery why they ever stopped running this much-loved campaign. I suspect it has a lot to do with the fact that Miller High Life is not a much loved beer.

As someone who has consumed more than his fair share of beer, I can tell you that Miller High Life has the appearance, the smell and the drinkability of a freshly drawn urine sample.

But, as my buddy Matt puts it, particularly in advertising, "you play the hand you're dealt."

So kudos go out to the current marketing team at Miller who decided to breath new life into the Miller high Life man campaign. And kudos also belong to the creatives on the other side of the Jersey border. True to the spirit of the original work, they have mined the small moments of life. They celebrate the notion of simplicity. And they have made advertising that doesn't feel like advertising.

Are the new spots as good as the old ones? Uh, no. But as I noted earlier, that bar was impossibly high.

Are the new spots better than 99.99% of any crap commercials you're likely to see today, tomorrow or next week? Indubitably, yes.

Crack open a Heinekin, you kids from Philly. You deserve it.