Hasta La Creative!

MillerCoors named Philadelphia-based agency Quaker City Mercantile (formerly known as Gyro Worldwide) as lead creative and digital strategy agency for its Miller High Life brand. The creative account had formerly been with Leo Burnett, whose shopper marketing agency Arc will continue to work with the brand, with DigitasLBi handling digital work.

MillerCoors also tapped roster agency Mekanism to handle its Keystone Light brand. Both changes were made months ago, but just confirmed to AdAge by brand representatives yesterday. We reached out to MillerCoors as well but have yet to receive a response. 

Other alcohol brands on Quaker City Mercantile’s roster include Hendrick’s Gin, Milagro Tequila and Rhode Island’s Narragansett Brewing Company.

Ashley Selman, MillerCoors vice president, marketing for emerging and economy brands, told AdAge that the brand did not assign AOR status on its economy brands but that Quaker City Mercantile’s assignment could include broadcast advertising, digital and packaging. “We are exploring all of that with them right now,” she said. “We wanted to take a slightly different approach, and we felt like getting to know the Quaker City guys and gals they had a really good finger on the pulse of where we wanted to go with Miller High Life.”

She added that the agency’s work with other alcohol brands was not a concern, stating, “One of the reasons we like them is their understanding of alcohol and consumers. We are not concerned about them working on other alcohols. We have a really clear agreement with them.”

The news follows Leo Burnett losing the McDonald’s account to Omnicom in August following a review launched back in April. Leo Burnett is currently defending in a review for General Motors’ GMC brand, launched earlier this month.

Chicago-based multicultural agency Commonground/MGS, which opened up shop in NYC at the end of 2013, is back with a new spot for Coors Light that aims to recharge the beer brand and is, hence, aptly dubbed “reFRESH.” The black & white :30 ad, buoyed by a bouncy EDM-tinged thump, manages to squeeze in a host of influencers from hip-hop and street art circles who seem to be having much more fun than we are at the moment.

The likes of global graffiti maestro Bik-Ismo, former Kanye West manager/DJ Don C and Big Sean/Drake producer DJ Dahi grace the screen in a spot that marks a distinct change of pace for a brand that’s normally relied on mountains, streams and a folksy VO to sell its wares. Here’s hoping for more MillerCoors refreshment from Commonground MGS, which also works with the likes of Verizon and Coca-Cola.

Agency: Commonground/MGS

Client: MillerCoors – Coors Light

EVP, Director of Influence & Content: Robert Clifton Jr.

CD: Mark Graham

CD: Juan Santiago

ACD: Lauren Ingram

Sr. Copywriter: Nate DeLeon

Assoc. Copywriter: Shawn Gadley

VP, Director of Integrated Production: Yung Savolainen

Sr. Producer: Jennifer Bluford

Producer: Antonio Burnett

Production Company: Chromista

Director: Daniel Portrait

Exec Producer: Ted Robbins, Sandy Haddad

Director of Photography: Adam Newport-Berra

Editorial: Whitehouse Post

Editor: Paul Calandra

I was enjoying Telemundo the other day when Danny Trejo interrupted a trio of cellphone-using friends to save Miller Time.

I don't speak Spanish, but you don't need to in order to appreciate the presence of Trejo. Casanova Pendrill made an excellent choice by casting the toughest of toughs. Without nothing more than a stone cold stare, he castigates the inconsiderate friends who are paying more attention to their technology than to sacred beer time. He inclines his head slightly, his heavy-lidded eyes drifting downward in an unspoken threat. Drop the phones, his face says, before you disappoint me. All three quickly dunk their phones in the Miller Lite ice bucket. Trejo lets a smile flit across his face before turning, his hair whipping back in an unseen wind, presumably running off to protect Miller Time elsewhere.

From New Belgium's app that shuts down your phone when you're drinking to the Offline Glass, which stands up straight only if it's resting on your cellphone, bars and beer companies are taking a stand against social media's social-killing effect. Of course, none of them stand quite as tall as Trejo.

Here is something worth watching from MillerCoors and RecycleBank. Just in time for Earth Day, MillerCoors and RecycleBank have partnered to relaunch “The Cycle,” an animated video that helps answer the important question of what happens to recyclables after they are collected. “The Cycle” won the “Best Educational Resource” award at this year’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas.

RecycleBank is a recycling rewards program currently servicing households across 18 states. To date, RecycleBank has helped to divert more than 141,000 tons of recyclables from landfills and households have cumulatively saved more than 1.4 million trees and more than 95 million gallons of oil through their recycling efforts.

The Cycle takes viewers through each step of the recycling cycle, from recycling collection to processing to manufacturing new products from recycled material. With the goal of sharing the knowledge about recycling and helping people understand their eco-footprint, the video can be downloaded in three formats and is meant to be shared.

(Source) Press