Here's a fun Christmas stunt from Miller Lite.
Thanks to the brewer, a giant ugly-holiday-sweater billboard, handwoven out of actual yarn, now adorns a corner of New York's Times Square.
Agency TBWA\Chiat\Day in Los Angeles worked with Brooklyn artist London Kaye to crochet the cheery monstrosity, which features reindeer and, of course, beer (the iconic Miller Lite Steinie bottle that launched the brand in 1975). The video below captures some of the process, which took over three weeks of handweaving (tedious work, even by ad production standards).
Kaye's enthusiasm—the kind that might be cloying if the project were less oddball—shines through, bringing the whole thing to life in a way that's actually charming.
Kaye, whose other yarn-bombing work includes a hilarious (if controversial) Wes Anderson-Stanley Kubrick mashup in Bushwick, describes the Miller job as her largest-ever piece.
Still, the effort-to-impact ratio might fall short of the Brazilian warm clothing drive launched this fall by attaching smaller bits of illicit knitting to the figures on traffic signs. Another beer brand, Grolsch, also did some yarn-bombing as part of a broader street-art installation in London earlier this year.
Regardless, for anyone who wants to experience Miller's willfully hideous billboard firsthand, it will be up at 49th Street and 7th Avenue through the month of December.
Oh, and you can also buy real Miller Lite ugly Christmas sweaters, too.
CREDITS
Client: Miller Lite
Chief Marketing Officer, MillerCoors: David Kroll
Vice President, Brand Marketing: Gannon Jones
Senior Director, Miller Lite: Greg Butler
Director, Miller Lite: Cris Rivera
Manager of Strategic Alliances, Miller Lite: Kristen Fraas
Senior Associate Marketing Manager, Miller Lite: Sara Studebaker
Agency: TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles
Chief Creative Officer: Stephen Butler
Executive Creative Director: Fabio Costa
Creative Directors: Dave Horton, Matthew Woodhams-Roberts:
Copywriter: Vincent Largoza
Art Director: Jason Kim
Executive Project Manager: Alice Pavlisko
Chief Production Officer: Tanya LeSieur
Director of Production: Brian O'Rourke
Director of Print Production: Kacey Harahan
Executive Producer: Dena Moore
Print Producer: Jasmine Gomillion
Group Account Director: Chris Hunter
Account Director: Bryan Reugebrink
Account Supervisor: Tommy Cottam
Account Executive: Emily Peck
Senior Strategic Planner: Gary Klugman
Senior Social Strategist: Jessica Rudis
Director of Business Affairs: Linda Daubson
Business Affairs Manager: Dorn Reppert