Big Shoes to Fill: Miller High Life Drops Leg Lamp as Holiday Follow-Up to Gingerbread Dive Bar

Miller High Life’s holiday swag—a leg lamp reminiscent of A Christmas Story’s famously fish-netted prop—has some big shoes to fill when it drops later this week.

The festive item, modeled after the brand’s Girl in the Moon mascot, follows last season’s kitschy piece of decor: a suds-infused gingerbread dive bar that sold out in 2 minutes and became a viral superstar.

As a twist on the movie’s lovably tacky objet d’art, the Leg Lamp Beer Tower launches Friday. It will be available in a limited quantity for buyers willing to shell out $120 for a tchotchke that could signify a “major award” but definitely dispenses a six pack’s worth of brew.

“It’s so indescribably beautiful you’ll want to display it in your front room window” where it will “blaze in unparalleled glory,” according to the brand.

The product coincides with a few milestones: Miller High Life’s 120th birthday, hence the price, and the debut of the nostalgia-laden family flick, A Christmas Story Christmas, though there’s no official tie-in with the film.

More than an Insta-worthy novelty

In brainstorming and green-lighting the concept, marketing executives at Miller High Life aimed to match the success from 2021 or even outdo themselves with a new attention-grabbing, Instagram-worthy holiday novelty. That’s no mean feat in a world stuffed with year-end stunts in the booze category and many others.

With several choices from longtime agency partner ICF Next, the brand started with the kind of questions it routinely asks about potential programs, according to Lucy Bloxam, Miller High Life marketing manager.

“Is it approachable? Is it unpretentious?” Bloxam told Adweek. “Do you want to share it with your family and friends? Is it always a good time?”

And perhaps most critical: would the merchandise feel right at home in a dive bar?

The Molson Coors-owned brand devotes “time, effort and thoughtfulness” to deciding its fourth quarter activation, Bloxam said, with a number of goals in mind, including gathering first-party data and amassing earned media.

In a conversation with Adweek, Bloxam identified some key factors that helped put the Leg Lamp Beer Tower on the “nice” list:

Will it expand the brand’s reach?

Miller High Life, also known as the “Champagne of Beers,” was founded in 1902, and some of its most ardent fans are older drinkers. While recognizing the core audience, there’s an ongoing push to bring in the next generation, with marketers trying to reach men 25 to 34 years old.

“This younger demo knows that Miller High Life exists because maybe their dad drank it,” Bloxam said. “They may not know much more than that.”

The retro-cool Leg Lamp Beer Tower may end up in the homes of the die-hard loyalists. But it throws “a halo” over the brand, Bloxam said, potentially catching the eye of millennial men and prompting them to consider the legacy brand when they’re at a neighborhood watering hole or liquor store.

Is it culturally relevant?

Like most brands, either emerging or heritage, Miller High Life wants to hone its storytelling chops. And there may be no better conversation starter than a leg lamp that stands nearly 3.5 feet tall and is, along with the Red Ryder BB gun, an evocative piece of movie memorabilia.

Miller’s product pays homage to its forerunner, which has been reproduced and knocked off for years, but adds its own touches. For instance, it’s a low-heeled boot not a spiky stiletto, in keeping with the character on the brand’s bottles, and the leg wears modest tights instead of sexy stockings.

Its shade, complete with fancy tassels, covers the beer receptacle, and suds flow from a conveniently placed tap. (Brew sold separately.)

And in a nod to one of the best gags in the film, the lamp will ship in boxes stamped “fragile,” pronounced “fra-gee-lay” to those in the know.

Does it punch above its weight? 

Execs wouldn’t put a figure on the project’s cost, but they said they keep a tight grip on marketing spend for the brand, in line with its blue-collar ethos. Like the dive bar ice cream from last summer and other previous activations, the lamp was no exception.

“Every dollar needs to work really hard,” Bloxam said. “We like scrappy programs that are low-cost, high-impact.”

Bloxam wouldn’t say how many lamps will be available, but she said the “while supplies last” sense of scarcity creates FOMO with consumers and concentrates the hype in a short window for maximum impact.

The brand gives fans at least a few days’ notice before the product drop, monitoring social media for response and engagement as a “litmus test” for anticipated earned media, Bloxam said. Meantime, the rest of the media plan kicks in with retail displays, field marketing, social and paid posts.

While the brand is willing to experiment, marketers need to be “fully confident” in the idea, studying what has worked in the past and relying on their outside agency to advise on “what has a lot of voltage.”

The lamp “felt like two classics coming together,” Bloxam said. “We could put our own spin on it—with the functionality of the beer tower—and make it as ownable as possible for Miller High Life. In theory, no other brand could do a talk piece exactly like this.”