• by Erik Oster , December 5, 2023

MolsonCoors has brewed up a holiday marketing campaign built around seasonal merchandise.

The Beercracker is a spin on the nutcracker, assigning the functional holiday seasonal accessory a new role: cracking open a beer. Designed to supplant the easily lost bottle opener or churchkey, it doubles as easy-to-find seasonal decor sitting on your mantle.

“The holiday season is full of traditions that blend Miller Lite and the holiday season together perfectly. Because of that, we try to do something fun for our fans every year and give them new, interesting ways to incorporate Miller Lite into the holiday festivities,” Miller Lite Senior Marketing Manager Anne Pando told Marketing Daily.

Beyond the Beercracker, which appears to have been enough of a hit with the brand’s fans to sell out on its website, Miller Lite also brought back its Beernaments, which Pando described as "Miller Lite's take on a classic tree ornament... with a handy stand to avoid spilled beer." And for the seventh year, Miller Lite holiday knitwear returns,which this year will feature “special edition gear for your favorite professional football alliance."

Sister brand Miller High Life has also driven an association with the holidays through merch, including last year’s beer-dispensing leg lamp and 2021’s gingerbread dive bar. Pando alluded to Miller High Life’s seasonal campaign debuting today, celebrating both dive bar culture and the brand’s 120th anniversary.

Miller High Life introduced the Merry High Light, which the brand describes as a 2.5-foot table top light-up tree designed to evoke “the nostalgic dive bar smell of sweet tobacco.” It will be available for sale beginning Dec. 8 for $120. A sweepstakes promotion will give away one five-foot version of the tree with a custom “Girl in the Moon” tree topper.