I saw this article in the Trib today and it was just too funny not to share.  The boldface is my emphasis.

chicagotribune.com

Miller Lite seeks taste of Coors Light’s success

Lite aims for market share gains without cannibalizing new partner’s sales

By Mike Hughlett

Tribune reporter

May 17, 2009
It may seem like a goofy gimmick: Mountains pictured on a bottle of Coors Light turn blue when the brew inside is frosty cold.

But it’s a key part of positioning Coors Light as the wellspring of “cold refreshment,” a marketing strategy that has helped to make the brand the toast of the mainstream beer world.

Coors Light has been the fastest-growing major domestic beer in recent years, and in 2008 it surpassed longtime rival Miller Lite as the nation’s second-best-selling light beer, behind Bud Light.

But that rivalry changed with last year’s merger of the U.S. operations of SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co. Now, the two light brews are under the umbrella of MillerCoors, a joint venture created to battle U.S. beer leviathan Anheuser-Busch. MillerCoors is set to open its Loop headquarters next month, bringing 300 to 400 jobs to Chicago.

The joint venture’s chief marketing officer, Andrew England, is aiming to pull Miller Lite out of a tailspin with some of the tricks he used to make Coors Light such a success. Shoring up Miller Lite, without significantly cannibalizing Coors Light, will be a tall order but a top priority.

After all, the two brews make up more than half of MillerCoors sales, and light beer, unlike mainstream domestic beer, remains a growth category

……

Miller Lite has been especially hard hit by the sour economy, which has hurt beer sales more at bars and restaurants, where it is ordered more than Coors Light, than at retailers such as grocery stores. Lite sales also were stung by a price hike last year that exceeded the average beer price increase. And Miller’s success with its new, ultralow-calorie MGD 64 has hurt Lite sales, some analysts say.

But experts also point to marketing missteps at Miller Lite in recent years. Where Coors has been consistent, “Miller’s message has been scattered, more confused,” Schumacher said.

For instance, Miller shifted a few years ago from touting Lite for low carbohydrates to an ad campaign known as “Man Laws,” a parody about what’s macho and what’s not. Lite went “from being sort of a diet beer to a manly beer,” Schumacher said. Then, “Man Laws” was dropped.

England aims to foster consistency by focusing on the old standby of taste. The new “great taste” campaign started with ads in February championing Lite’s “triple hops” brewing process. The company this month launches its “taste protector” theme, complete with packaging twists out of the Coors Light playbook.

Cans of Miller Lite now feature a “taste protector” coating along the pull-ring opening to ward off any hint of tinniness. The bottled version will be billed for its “taste protector” cap, though it’s really not different than any other cap.

MillerCoors’ Lite strategy “is definitely in the right direction, but whether taste resonates with young consumers remains to be seen,” Schumacher said.

John Greening, an advertising professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, is skeptical it will.

Light beer is “really not about taste,” said Greening, who long worked on beer advertising accounts. “Light beer is really about appearance: Who wants to be fat?”

Greening said that if people drink beer for flavor, they migrate to imports and craft beer.

England disagreed. To beer consumers, “the most important attribute is taste,” he said. “The second-most-important attribute is refreshment.”

For MillerCoors, it’s essential to position each of its light beers on different attributes: taste for Lite, refreshment for Coors Light. Each needs to have its own clear identity in order not to suck sales from the other, experts said.

After all, some beer business watchers say it isn’t a coincidence that Coors Light’s rise has coincided with Lite’s troubles.

“I do believe Coors Light grew partially at the expense of Miller Lite in recent years,” Steinman said

England said he’s not worried about one of his brands cannibalizing the other. The company’s studies show that Coors Light and Miller Lite tend to take or lose business more to Bud Light than each other, England said.

“My job is to take business away from Bud Light,” he said. “Bud Light is the enemy.”

Hilarious…

Three Floyds Draught:

Alpha King Pale Ale- A bold yet balanced American pale ale with slight caramel sweetness and aggressive citrus hoppiness  *Our Flagship beer     68 IBU  6% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Gumballhead – An American wheat beer with a refreshing and crisp citrus finish.  This delicious seasonal is brewed with boatloads of Amarillo hops.  30 IBU  4.5% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Robert the Bruce- A full bodied Scottish-style ale with a well rounded malty profile and roasted biscuit-like notes  24 IBU 6.5% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Pride and Joy – A smooth medium bodied session beer with citrus hop aroma and finish.  *Our invention of an American Mild  42 IBU 5% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Dreadnaught IPA – An Imperial India Pale Ale with an intense citrus hop aroma, a huge malt body, and a crisp finish   100 IBU 9.5% a.b.v. $5 half-pint

Behemoth- Intense ale, brewed to wine strength.  Floral and citrus notes blend with robust maltiness producing a complex and warming beer  80 IBU 10% a.b.v.   $7 snifter

Rabbid Rabbit – This Franco-Belgian style farmhouse ale, with it’s effervescent malt body and light straw color, is augmented by spices creating a complex frothy beverage   20 IBU  8% a.b.v.  $5 Tulip

Calumet Queen- A light bodied, crisp, refreshing Kolsch-style beer, golden color  20 IBU 5% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Hyena!- A Belgian pale ale brewed with American hops and fermented with Chouffe yeast   35 IBU 6% a.b.v. $4 footed ale

Dortmunder Einfall – A traditional Dortmunder-style Lager.  $5 Pint

Blackheart – English style IPA, a throwback historical ale brewed when English IPA’s were hopped up to last the long voyage from England to Colonial troops in India, using English malts, English hops, English yeast and aged slightly in toasted oak for a 19th Century taste 78 IBU 8.5% ABV $5 half-pint

Guest Draught Beer:

Chimay Triple – A golden Belgian ale with fruity notes to compliment the touch of bitterness that melts in your mouth  8% a.b.v. $8 goblet

Ommegang Rare Vos – Rare Vos is flemmish for “Sly Fox,” and the name of one of Brussels’ great cafes. It has a sweetly fruity malt character and yeasty spiciness.   6.5% a.b.v. $5 footed ale glass  (4/22/09)

Chouffe Houblon- Unique balance between intense IPA & Belgian triple, malty body, distinctive dryness, expressive fruitiness    9% a.b.v. 59 IBU $6 snifter

Klokke Roeland- Belgian strong dark amber ale from Brouwerij Van Steenberge  11% a.b.v. $5 snifter

Bells Hopslam – A biting bitter, tongue bruiser of an ale  10% a.b.v. $5 half-pint

Lindemans Framboise – Raspberry Lambic, rose color, delicate palate of raspberries with undertones of fruity acidity, elegant, spraking clean natural taste  4% a.b.v $6 footed Ale

Bellhaven Scottish Stout – Strong stout with roasted chocolate flavor and medium body  7% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Stone Levitation – Copper colored ale, big hoppy character, dry finish, citrus overtones  4.4% a.b.v. 45 IBU $5 Imperial Pint

Founders Imperial Stout – Robust Ale brewed with ten varieties of malted barley, extremely smooth, complex with a rich body  25 IBU 10% a.b.v. $5 half-pint

Stuart Fox at Popular Science says:

But if you were going to stock canned goods, Serious Eats wants to know what would be on your list of foods to horde during the viral meltdown. Personally, I would save up on bacon, brisket, sourdough bread, Three Floyds brewery beer and DVDs of the The Wire. Yeah, I know that last one isn’t food, but man cannot live on bread alone.

Three Floyds Draught:

Alpha King Pale Ale- A bold yet balanced American pale ale with slight caramel sweetness and aggressive citrus hoppiness  *Our Flagship beer     68 IBU  6% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Gumballhead – An American wheat beer with a refreshing and crisp citrus finish.  This delicious seasonal is brewed with boatloads of Amarillo hops.  30 IBU  4.5% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Robert the Bruce- A full bodied Scottish-style ale with a well rounded malty profile and roasted biscuit-like notes  24 IBU 6.5% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Pride and Joy – A smooth medium bodied session beer with citrus hop aroma and finish.  *Our invention of an American Mild  42 IBU 5% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Dreadnaught IPA – An Imperial India Pale Ale with an intense citrus hop aroma, a huge malt body, and a crisp finish   100 IBU 9.5% a.b.v. $5 half-pint

Behemoth- Intense ale, brewed to wine strength.  Floral and citrus notes blend with robust maltiness producing a complex and warming beer  80 IBU 10% a.b.v.   $7 snifter

Rabbid Rabbit – This Franco-Belgian style farmhouse ale, with it’s effervescent malt body and light straw color, is augmented by spices creating a complex frothy beverage   20 IBU  8% a.b.v.  $5 Tulip

Calumet Queen- A light bodied, crisp, refreshing Kolsch-style beer, golden color  20 IBU 5% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Hyena!- A Belgian pale ale brewed with American hops and fermented with Chouffe yeast   35 IBU 6% a.b.v. $4 footed ale

Dortmunder Einfall – A traditional Dortmunder-style Lager.  $5 Pint

Banana Split 7″ – A Bavarian Style Dunkleweizenbock brewed with our friend chef Paul Kahan from the Publican Restaurant, in Chicago.  Hints of baker’s chocolate and banana throughout.  18 IBU 9% a.b.v. $5 footed ale

Slave Princess – A Dark Lord party gyle or “small beer” This porter is made from the second runnings of this year’s Dark Lord brew.  Dark and intensley roasty this session beer is a hint of what the Dark Lord is.  4o IBU 5% a.b.v.  $5 Imperial Pint

Brian Boru – Our seasonal Irish Red is brewed with several malts and amarillo hops, resulting in a rich, caramel ale with toffee, citrus and pineapple aromas.  Named after Ireland’s LAST high King.  Slainte!  40 IBU 5.9% a.b.v. $5 Imperial Pint

Guest Draught Beer:

Kasteel Rouge- Strong, tart, cherry beer, created by maturing Kasteel Bruin with sour cherries and liquor used to make ‘Mon Cherie’ chocolates for at least 6 months.  8% a.b.v.  $6 footed ale

Chimay Triple – A golden Belgian ale with fruity notes to compliment the touch of bitterness that melts in your mouth  8% a.b.v. $8 goblet

Ommegang Rare Vos – Rare Vos is flemmish for “Sly Fox,” and the name of one of Brussels’ great cafes. It has a sweetly fruity malt character and yeasty spiciness.   6.5% a.b.v. $5 footed ale glass  (4/22/09)

Chouffe Houblon- Unique balance between intense IPA & Belgian triple, malty body, distinctive dryness, expressive fruitiness    9% a.b.v. 59 IBU $6 snifter

Klokke Roeland- Belgian strong dark amber ale from Brouwerij Van Steenberge  11% a.b.v. $5 snifter