• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, November 1, 2017

Miller Lite has launched another volley in a battle of the ads that was sparked by Lite’s efforts to steal some share from Bud Light.

MillerCoors’s Miller Lite — the third-largest-selling beer by volume in the U.S., according to IRI — started the jousting in September 2016 with a campaign touting Lite as having “more taste, less calories and half the carbs” of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light, the nation’s top-selling beer. 

This past summer, A-B InBev retaliated — but with a campaign for its economy Natural Light brand, rather than stooping to having No. 1-by-far Bud Light take on a competitor. The Natural Light campaign, which humorously takes on Miller Lite (in part by mocking the spelling), has included Natural Light’s first new TV ad since 2009, and a series of videos featuring supermodel Marisa Miller.

Miller Lite was also busy over the summer, conducting blind taste tests against Bud Light in bars around the country, in a promotional program called “Know Your Beer.” 

According to MillerCoors, Miller Lite won in 72% of the tests. Then it took the challenge last month (Sept. 7-9) to St. Louis — home of A-B InBev and birthplace of Bud Light. In those tests, 76% of the more than 360 residents who participated chose Miller Lite, reports the company.

Now, Miller Lite is touting the St. Louis results with a video (90-second version on YouTube below) showing some of the live taste tests there, featuring ample footage of longtime Bud Light drinkers expressing surprise at having chosen Lite.

A shortened version also will be used for online video and social, including Lite’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels. No TV use is planned, according to Olson Engage, the agency behind the video.

Is A-B InBev likely to take this lying down? Unlikely. Stay tuned for the next episode.