Miller Lite's "revolutionary" ad idea turns out to be the same as Budweiser's

Remember the MillerCoors headlines from just a few weeks ago promising a "breakthrough ad campaign" for Miller Lite?

​It has arrived.

And it's definitely solid work, but it's also far more imitative than revolutionary. Here's a look at the first three ads, and our first reaction.

We've nagged Miller Lite's marketing brain trust for the past three years to base the brand's advertising on the beer. While they routinely ignored us with any number of quirky off-point efforts, it appears that they weren't as quick to ignore Budweiser's pursuit of a product-distinctiveness-based ad strategy. Even harder to ignore were the positive sales trends the King of Beers has begun posting as a consequence.

Now Miller Lite offers the same sort of directness and unapologetic feel as Budweiser's "Brewed the Hard Way." To be sure, these first 15-second ads seem to lack the celebratory feel and the joy of Bud's work. And Lite's product-distinctiveness facts seem less substantial than Budweiser's. (Does the spelling of "light" really matter?)

Product-distinctiveness.

Product distinctiveness-2

But maybe we shouldn't be too hard on Lite. Focusing on product-distinctiveness is the key decision for beer-brand advertisers, and Lite got that part right. Finding the perfect creative style in the ads is important, but secondary. Complaining about less-than-stellar drama in these ads when the underlying premise is strong would be like whining about dispatchers not sending a newer-model ambulance when you're lying in the street with a compound fracture. The ambulance is the important part.

From a product-distinctiveness angle, Miller Lite has certainly seen the light... no matter how you spell it.

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