There was a time in the mid 2000’s where someone, somewhere decided to deviate from the tagline It’s Miller time to the Miller Way. The advertising agency Mother (UK) was the one to propose this.
As a result, my agency at the time was pitted against them to come up with a look for the International advertising. The new owner of my agency was determined to make his mark. So instead of drawing upon the skills and experience of the Creative Team, he went out and hired some of the most expensive freelancers he could get his mitts on.
As Associate Creative Director at the time, I was asked to design these outsourced campaign ideas using my understanding of the brand and the assets we had available to us at the time. I did.
But I also created my own. No one asked me to. I just did it. When it came time to look at all of the creative as a group, I could see that the new ideas were not sitting great with the team. So I showed them mine. Reluctantly, the new boss put it into the mix and then jumped on a plane to present it in London.
Mother also presented theirs which also did not strike a chord with the client. My campaign was the one that they chose. I illustrated each of them myself in different styles using vector art that I made myself. I did not know it at the time, but this assortment of vectors would eventually inspire the brand Vectorvault (est. 2005).
When the new boss returned, he did not congratulate me or thank me for my efforts. He was furious that his first attempt at shaping this brand had failed. I was a reminder of that. My Creative Team knew the scope of what I had accomplished. Not only by properly building the freelance campaigns, but also beating out a whole team of award winning creatives across the pond. These are the stories that are forgotten. But not by me.
The Miller Way was a terrible (short lived) tagline. And it came as no surprise that it would eventually return to the original: It’s Miller Time. The old adage of “If it’s not broke don’t fix it” is lost on those with the ambition to change things in order to make their mark.
Soon after, I resigned my position as Associate Creative Director and set out to use my skills on other brands. Juggernaut Design provided creative services used to build the Miller Genuine Draft brand for 5 and a half years. I am grateful for the experience.
The Miller Way
Miller Genuine Draft
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I illustrated each of these ads and designed a visual library for international markets to follow.
The concept was to create something from nothing.
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Creative Director: Christopher Grimston
Associate Creative Director / Illustrator: Adam Jarvis
Production: Chris Baginski
Agency: The Hive
