Crispin Porter+Bogusky (CP+B), Miami, puts Flavor Flav on the stand in what is billed as the “Great Taste Trial” in a one of three new trial-themed commercials for Miller Lite. Titled “Miller Lite Expert,” the :30 spot finds the hip-hop star testifying that Miller Lite tastes better than “a changed Bud Light.” When a lawyer for Bud Light objects to Flavor Flav’s testimony, insisting that Flavor Flav is not a taste expert, the judge overrules him. “The man’s legal name is Flavor Flav, counselor,” the judge reasons.
Frankly, it is a ludicrous scenario, but boy, is it funny–particularly for comparison-style advertising, which tends to be dry. “We were just trying to get the facts across in an entertaining manner,” said CP+B creative director Paul Keister, who worked on the project with a creative team that also included executive creative director Alex Bogusky, copywriters Evan Fry and Rob Strasberg, and art directors John Parker and James Dawson-Hollis.
When it came to casting a “taste expert” for this particular Miller Lite spot, hiring Flavor Flav was a no brainer. Really, his moniker says it all, and he is an appealing, relevant character in the minds of the 21-to-35-year-old guys this spot–the entire campaign for that matter–is trying to reach.
Yes, Public Enemy’s heyday was back in the late 1980s, but the politically conscious group as well as the colorful Flavor Flav remain iconic in the world of hip hop, and the wild man has hardly been laying low in recent years. Flavor Flav began a high-profile romance with Brigitte Nielsen during the filming of VH1’s The Surreal Life, and the network continued to chronicle their now-kaput relationship through the follow-up series Strange Love.
“YEAH, BOY!”
In the “Miller Light Expert” spot, CP+B pays tribute to Flavor Flav’s past, slipping a big, fat “Yeah, boy!” into the spot. During his days with Public Enemy, Flavor Flav became famous for not only wearing clocks around his neck but for the phrase “Yeah, boy!”–a point Keister needed to express while meeting with his client. “I was sitting in a meeting with the CEO of Miller three weeks [before the shoot] and had to go, ‘Yeah, boy!’ ” Keister related with a laugh. “He had a grin on his face like I was the craziest man alive, but he appreciated what we were conveying.”
Director Martin Granger of bicoastal Moxie Pictures also got it and was hired to direct “Miller Lite Expert.” No stranger to working with CP+B, Granger has enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with the agency, helming spots for Burger King as well as the American Legacy Foundation.
Granger, who was out of the country and couldn’t be reached for an interview at press time, and DP Barry Parrell shot “Miller Lite Expert” on a courtroom set at The Culver Studios in Culver City, Calif.
The goal was to make the spot look like authentic television news coverage of a trial. To get the right look, Granger shot the spot on video. The footage was augmented with TV-news style graphics created by the artisans at Chelsea Digital, New York, and stinger-style music out of Beacon Street Studios in Venice, Calif. “We tried to develop as many of those bugs or those cues you would see on CNN or Fox that we could,” Keister shared.
Back to the shoot itself, Keister reported that Flavor Flav was fun to work with and even provided his own props, showing up at the shoot with an assortment of clocks that he could potentially wear. The biggest one was chosen, of course.
Flavor Flav’s neckware struck a chord with Keister. “I was thinking about wearing my Treo around my neck on a lanyard from now on,” he said, musing, “But it has to be exaggerated, so maybe my computer–“
Back to the shoot, Keister credited Granger with creating a relaxed atmosphere on the set, feeding the talent lines not just from the script but also ad-libs he came up with on the spot.
With the shoot complete, editor Chan Hatcher of Cosmo Street Editorial, New York, cut the spot. “To cut it wasn’t too painful. Because it was a linear story, it was pretty easy,” Keister reported.
TASTE TIFF
By the way, it should be noted that the “Miller Lite Expert” spot–and this campaign in general, which also includes a Web site, www.tastetrial.com, and print ads, did not debut without controversy. In fact, a beer brouhaha has since developed. While Miller Brewing Company, the parent company of Miller Lite, maintains that rival Bud Light has altered the formula of its beer in the past year to make it more bitter and bubbly, Anheuser-Busch, which makes Bud Light, insists that assertion is false and has asked a number of the cable television networks running the Miller Lite spots to put them on hold until Miller Lite’s claims can be proven or disproven, according to The Associated Press (AP).
Some networks, including TBS, TNT and E!, have honored Anheuser-Busch’s request, the AP reports. CNN, CNN Headline News and Comedy Central are among the cable television networks that continue to run the spots.