Miller Beer Announces Immediate Review of Marketing Policies: Catholic League

The following news was released by the Catholic League on October 1. A full-page ad on page 21 of the Folsom Street Fair’s program states: “Miller Brewing Company Proudly Sponsors the 2007 Folsom Street Fair.” The company asked the Fair organizers pull its “Miller Lite” logo from their promotional ad mocking the Last Supper.–PL 

MILLER ANNOUNCES IMMEDIATE AUDIT: MARKETING POLICIES UNDER REVIEW

October 1, 2007

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on the latest developments regarding the league’s boycott of Miller Brewing:

“Today’s San Francisco Chronicle reports that at yesterday’s Folsom Street Fair, ‘couples led each other up and down the street with dog collars and leashes, men in thong underwear played Twister….’ There was also a man who was flogged to such an extent that ‘red lash marks covered his back.’ Other gay men decided to ‘walk around naked’ in front of women and children. In addition to the homosexuals who dressed as nuns—ridiculing the women who have given selflessly of their lives in service to the dispossessed—there was a female stripper who was hoisted in a cage over a Roman Catholic church (on a Sunday when Masses were being said). The lead sponsor for the incredible spectacle is the Miller Brewing Company.

“The response from Miller has been encouraging, though incomplete. The Milwaukee brewer issued a news release on September 26 saying it took exception to the use of its logo on an offensive poster mocking the Last Supper. Today, it extended its original statement by apologizing for the misuse of its logo, ‘particularly [to] members of the Christian community who have contacted us to express their concern.’ It also said, ‘We are conducting an immediate audit of our procedures for approving local marketing and sales sponsorships to ensure that this does not happen again.’

“We called Miller today asking for clarification of this statement, and we are pleased to note that a full-scale review of all its promotional policies is underway. It is not certain at this time whether Miller plans to sponsor events like the Folsom Street Fair in the future. Accordingly, while we are not calling off the boycott, we are tabling a serious course of action that we were going to announce today. We expect that Miller will resolve this issue before too long.”