• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, October 17, 2005

It's half-time, and you and your buddies have run out of beer. It's your turn to make a run--so, with no time to spare, you must make your way across town for six cold Miller Lites, carefully avoiding packs of wild dogs, mailboxes, and other obstacles that threaten to slow you down.

Such is the scenario of Miller Brewing Company's new advergame, the "Miller Beer Run," which launched online last Monday. By Friday, the game had attracted 165,000 unique users (all of whom verified they were of legal drinking age).

The online game, developed and produced by interactive agency Skyworks, mimics the story and challenges of Miller Lite's new "Beer Runner" television ads that launched this weekend. Agency.com handled creative management for "Miller Beer Run" and developed all supporting digital marketing.

Traditional and online brand placements were orchestrated by media agency Starcom and digital unit Starcom IP, with sister agency SMG Play also contributing to content development. Young & Rubicam created the Miller Lite "Beer Runner" television advertising.

The Gartner research group predicted almost three years ago that more marketers would turn to "advergames"--which, the company concluded, increased brand and product awareness, customer loyalty, and time spent at an advertiser's Web site more effectively than other online marketing devices and programs.

BMW enlisted Skyworks in late 2003 to deploy an "advergame" to promote the launch of its X3 "sport activity vehicle." The BMW X3 Adventure targeted active, affluent young men and women. Just like 'Miller Beer Run,' it included a viral-marketing component through which players could invite their friends to compete against them and compare results on a private scoreboard.