Seeking to add a bit of flair and upscale appeal to its new TV campaign for Miller Genuine Draft, the Miller Brewing Co. has enlisted two L.A.-based firms and British apparel whiz Ozwald Boeteng.
The MGD brand will be integrated into “House of Boeteng,” a quasi-documentary show that will follow Boeteng, a successful luxury men’s clothing designer in Britain, as he attempts to expand his apparel line into the U.S. market. It premiered June 22 on the Sundance Channel.
The program is a co-production of Conductor, a brand-marketing consultancy, and Reveille, a TV production outfit, both of which hang their shingle in Los Angeles. The pairing pays off in a number of ways, some unconventional. As part of the deal with Miller, for example, Boeteng will custom design a bottle for the brewery which will, of course, appear in the TV show.
“I believe we’re in a watershed year for both the advertiser and content development industries, driven by the tipping points in technology innovation, media’s economic realities and control firmly in the hands of the consumer,” said Tim Tennant, Conductor’s chief executive. “We will help advertisers find and tell the deeper stories of their brands that will help them connect more emotionally and profitably with their customers.”
In addition to “House of Boeteng,” the Conductor-Reveille team is producing a cable TV project based on a Web series that Conductor created for Unilever’s Axe deodorant brand. The series follows the adventures of Evan and Gareth, two young “seduction crash test dummies” who star in a comedic online series.
The partner companies “share the same goal of creating original content that delivers strong results for consumer brands and that also stands on its own as pure-play entertainment,” said Ben Silverman, CEO of Reveille. A pioneer in advertising-financed programming, Silverman previously co-created the TV series “The Restaurant” and “Blow Out.” Both chronicled reality-based stories of launching and operating a business and were financed by advertisers whose content was featured in the show. In addition, Reveille has produced NBC’s “The Office” and FX’s “30 Days.” Conductor has created brand programming on video and online for clients Nestle, Purina, Ford Motor Co. and the National Hockey League.
Miller has been out front with its ad campaigns for years. In 2003, the company produced “Catfight,” a spot featuring two voluptuous women who, while arguing over whether Miller Lite “tastes great” or is “less filling,” tear off each other’s clothes and end up wrestling in wet cement.
