Miller Lite Auctions Game-Day Home Visits By Ex-Football Greats

by Nina Lentini, Aug 29, 2007, 5:00 AM

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Who wouldn't want Joe Theismann serving up the chips and dip as well as the Miller Lite in their own living room while they enjoy a Sunday afternoon of football?

Well, now one lucky consumer will live that dream the weekend before Thanksgiving when former footballers Theismann and Tony Dorsett join the winning bidder for the Washington versus Dallas game. There are 12 players in all planning to join winning bidders for six Sunday games.

Consumers can bid this season to have players come to their homes through a series of week-long eBay auctions sponsored by Miller Lite. All proceeds from the winning bids will go to The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

In addition, all auction winners will receive round-trip airfare for two people to Las Vegas for the annual Miller Lite Super Party in February. The trip to Vegas includes three-nights of hotel accommodations at Bally's Hotel and Casino on the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, as well as a $250 Miller Lite debit card.

Each auction will last seven days, closing on the Wednesday immediately preceding the highlighted game. The auctions are open to residents 21 and older in the 48 contiguous United States. The auction component is being managed on eBay by Auction Cause, an online auction management agency specializing in high-profile design, strategy and cause marketing for corporations and nonprofits worldwide.

More information is at ebay.com/millerlite.

Eric Gazin, president of Auction Cause, says: "This is the closest I've seen to a broadcast commercial being run on eBay. Make no mistake--this is really showcasing Miller as a brand in a video clip on YouTube, and the brand message is integrated into an eBay auction."

Auction Cause has handled other eBay-related auctions for companies like BMW and Jeep, but Gazin says the message was more about the charity than the brand. Plus, he notes of Miller's effort: "It's relevant. Ebay allows it because Miller doesn't get any money. It all goes to the charity."

The BMW auction involved America's Cup and the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and raised $100,000. The Jeep auction handed off keys to a Jeep two weeks ago at a Tim McGraw/Faith Hill concert, raising $70,000 to benefit McGraw and Hill's Neighbor's Keeper Foundation.

How much does Gazin expect the Miller Lite football auction to raise? "This is pretty much over the top. We expect to raise many tens of thousands of dollars, but it could go higher," he says, adding: "Money can't buy experience."

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