Tastes Great, Less Filling
Miller Lite1974
Tastes Great, Less Filling is a 1974 television campaign for Miller Lite, created by McCann Erickson.
The line
Tastes great! Less filling!
Why it works
The campaign that created the light-beer category. Low-calorie beer in 1974 carried a fatal image problem — diet products were for dieters, not beer drinkers — so McCann staged mock arguments between retired athletes and gruff celebrities over which of the beer's two virtues mattered more: "Tastes great!" "Less filling!" The argument structure did double duty, hammering both benefits while making the product the subject of barroom debate among exactly the men who might have mocked it. Ad Age ranked it the No. 8 campaign of the 20th century. It is studied as a masterclass in de-positioning a category stigma through humor and masculine casting — the strategic groundwork without which no 'light' product in any category launches the way it now does.
Techniques
- Humour Retired athletes and gruff celebrities stage mock arguments over whether the beer tastes great or is less filling, hammering both benefits.
- Testimonial and endorsement Masculine sports stars and tough-guy celebrities lend the light beer credibility with exactly the drinkers who might have mocked a diet product.
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