Advertising on the world’s largest stage – the Super Bowl – has only been a possibility for America’s largest and richest companies. This year Miller High Life had an idea. We would buy a commercial on the Super Bowl and give it to the people who could really use it – deserving small businesses. With many small businesses reeling from the effects of the financial crisis, the idea gave much needed exposure and publicity at a time when big business was getting handouts and no one was sticking up for the little guys. Dubbed the “Little Guys on the Big Game,” the commercial aired amidst the over-the-top nonsense served up by other brands and brought a healthy dose of common sense to the most pretentious advertising platform on the planet.

The idea was brought to life in a variety of different mediums including TV, radio, retail, digital and PR. The campaign kicked off two weeks prior to the Super Bowl with :30 TV that communicated the idea and told people to look out for the commercial on the Big Game. The idea was supported online through millerhighlife.com and Facebook, where consumers could get to know the businesses that were going to be in the commercial as well as explore tons of other content. PR played a critical role in the marketing mix and the idea received a tremendous amount of press on a variety of national news outlets that featured both our High Life delivery guy and the small business owners being interviewed about the idea. Retail support included POS and other elements. Finally, the :30 spot featuring the small businesses ran during the third quarter of the Super Bowl.

The idea yielded great results for both the brand and the businesses featured. The total TV media impressions exceeded 65 million. The idea received coverage on national news outlets including CNN, Fox, ESPN, New York Times, and Sports Business Daily. The idea also received coverage locally in more than 50 markets across the country. Most notably, all of the small businesses reported huge increases in store traffic following the launch of the idea.