Miller Lite is changing the way they approach Super Bowl advertisements with a new promotion in collaboration with Rob Riggle. The NFL championship game is well-known for being the launchpad for various companies to promote their products, particularly that of studios as they reveal major trailers for their upcoming movies and TV shows.
Riggle is an acclaimed stand-up comedian and actor, having once been a part of the Upright Citizens Brigade and often performing there with fellow hit comedian and actor Rob Huebel. Riggle has appeared in multiple Will Ferrell movies, including Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys, as well as being known for supporting turns in The Hangover, Let’s Be Cops and both 21 and 22 Jump Street.
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Ahead of the promotion’s launch, Screen Rant interviewed Riggle to discuss Miller Lite’s new Super Bowl campaign, in which fans are invited to try and win a Miller Lite jersey and run on the day of the big game with QR codes on them that, when scanned, can net them free beer money, as well as the relaunching of his podcast, Riggle’s Picks, and his thoughts on a New Girl revival return.
Rob Riggle Talks Miller Lite Super Bowl Campaign & More
Screen Rant: I’m very excited to chat about this Miller Lite ad campaign you’ve got going. Obviously, you’re no stranger to the world of football, but I think it’s such a fun way to meld your comedy with your love of football. When did they first approach you with this idea?
Rob Riggle: I guess they approached me probably three or four weeks ago, and kind of pitched the idea and I loved it. Right away, I thought it was really fun and unique. And I am a Miller Lite fan, I do drink it. I was drinking it before they asked, which made it even an easier, “Yes.” But I just liked it. I liked the innovation, I like when they do something new and fun for the big game. So that’s kind of what hooked me, that and, obviously, the product. [Chuckles]
I don’t blame you, they’re a good beer to enjoy! So, for those who don’t know the details of the promotion yet, can you tell me how it kind of works?
Rob Riggle: Yeah, so Miller Lite’s not gonna run one big ad during the Super Bowl, they’re gonna run 1000s, and the way they do that is you can participate. So, if you go to millerlite.com and fill out the little form there, they will send you a jersey, a Miller Lite jersey, that has a QR code on it, and if you scan that QR code, you get beer money, which everybody in the world loves beer. No one is saying no to beer money. [Chuckles]
It’s a great way to get the word out, and to get everybody involved, and get a nice little Miller Lite Jersey out of it. If you go to millerlite.com to see what I’m talking about, but it’s a great promotion. And it gets people out there running the ads themselves, so to speak, so that’s why I said there’s gonna be 1000s of ads being run.
If not more, like you said, everybody loves free beer money, I might look into it myself!
Rob Riggle: Absolutely, I would hope so. [Chuckles]
I have seen the ad promoting this, and it’s a pretty funny ad seeing the diverse group that you have running behind you for it. But I find it hysterical that, for you, it’s body paint. I’m curious what that process was like for you, especially given how perfect the Miller Lite logo looks?
Rob Riggle: Yeah, they brought in a really good team. Sadly, they had to use a lot of paint, but the artists they brought in to do that stuff were fantastic. It took a while to get painted up properly, and then I was running around outside, and I was trying very hard to stay cool and relaxed and not sweat too much, because I didn’t want to ruin their perfect work.
I can imagine, so how many takes did it take them to get that sequence? Especially since, I feel like with slow-mo, it can always be weird to have that in your head of, “Just run normally, you don’t run in slow-mo.”
Rob Riggle: Isn’t that funny? Because it’s true. The director said, “Okay, well, we’re gonna do this in slow-mo.” And when I’m running, I find myself pumping my arms in almost slow-motion. [Laughs] And he said, “No, no, you run normal. The camera goes in slow-mo.” And I was like, “Ah, yes, of course, of course.” But we did, I don’t know, several, several takes, because there’s all kinds of things you have to do — close-ups, you’ve got to do mid-range, you’ve got to do long shots. We had to change the background a little bit. So, it took a full day of shooting, but it was great. It was a fun day.
I can imagine. Did you get the chance to interact with any of the group behind you in between takes and get their thoughts on the Super Bowl coming up?
Rob Riggle: Oh, yeah, everybody. By the time we were done, I kind of knew everybody’s picks, and I think a lot were just being nice to me and picking the Chiefs, because they knew I was a Chiefs fan. But yeah, we definitely had a lot of conversations, I pretty much knew everybody’s pick.
That’s awesome. So, obviously, you’re a Chiefs fan, but at the same time, you’re an analyst in the world of the NFL, so you are typically great about that analytical mind. Who are you feeling?
Rob Riggle: Well, I’m also incredibly biased, because I am from Kansas City, so I am not objective. I’d be much more objective if the Chiefs weren’t in it, but since they are in it, I am a homer, and that means I only see red, I only see Chiefs. [Chuckles]
I couldn’t agree more. So, everybody has different routines for enjoying the Super Bowl. Obviously, a lot of us are going to be out there running with our Miller Light jerseys, but what are you looking to do to celebrate this year’s?
Rob Riggle: Well, the Chiefs will be in it, and I will be at the game, and I will be drinking Miller Lites and celebrating. That’s the plan. In lieu of that, I’ll be having Miller Lite and having a barbecue if that first-case scenario doesn’t pan out. I’ll be doing the secondary, which is probably a barbecue, because that’s what Kansas City folks do, we have barbecues on game day.
I love a good barbecue. So, what kind of things go on the grill for Super Bowl?
Rob Riggle: Well, you got to work the grill and the smoker, you’ve got to be working on both. You’ve got to have ribs, you’ve got to have brats, you’ve got to have burnt ends, a nice brisket with just the right sauce. You’ve got to mix up the sauces — all from Kansas City, of course — but you’ve got to try the different sauces, there’s Jack Stack, there’s Q39, there’s Oklahoma Joe’s, there’s Sweet Baby Ray’s. You’ve got to mix it up, depending on what you do, and then you’ve got to get the sides right sides, they’re critical. You’ve got to have good coleslaw, got to have good potato options, meaning mash, meaning cheesy potatoes, potato salad, maybe even creamed corn. It’s quite an ordeal.
Sounds like quite the lineup of things you got there! If you’ve got a smoker going, I’ve gotta recommend smoked potato salad. My stepmom introduced me to that a while ago, and that is some good stuff.
Rob Riggle: I’ve never even heard of this, you just opened my eyes to something here. What is this madness you speak of?
Well, it is exactly what it sounds like, you’re throwing the potatoes in while you’re smoking everything else, and then once they cook for a little while, you cut them up, you mix it with some of the other stuff you would with a potato salad, though we don’t use eggs for ours. But otherwise, we’ll throw some bacon in the smoker as well with it, cut up some chives, some dill, some cayenne pepper.
Rob Riggle: Can you taste the smoky flavor in the potato salad?
You do, and it’s fantastic. You might have to add that to this year’s lineup.
You’re saying all this stuff, and it’s hilarious. It’s Pavlovian, my mouth is watering, literally. [Chuckles]
Well, clearly, then you’ve got good taste! So, I know you also relaunched your podcast recently, which is awesome. How has it been getting back into that side of work?
Rob Riggle: It’s fun, I love it. I get to treat it like an improv show, which is how I came up, was doing improv at the UCB theater. So, I love it, I really do, and I’m interviewing friends, and people that I’m interested in, and people I want to learn from. And I hope the audience is curious as I am, and like to hear the stories of the people in the interview, and then also, it’s just fun.
We just try to have fun, it’s me and a good friend of mine, Darren Leader, who’s my co-host, and we just generally enjoy hanging out, shooting the breeze, laughing. And we’re both really curious about things, so I think it’s a fun hang. That’s how I would describe it. It’s a really fun hang, you have some laughs, and you get to meet some interesting people. That’s the general gist of it, and if you’re driving to work, I’m hoping that you enjoy the 30=40 minutes of hang time with us.
That’s awesome. So, who are some of your guests you have coming up, since you mentioned interviewing some folks?
Rob Riggle: Well, right now, the podcast that runs this week is Tom Lennon, who is just a comedy icon to me, because he’s an original member of The State, he’s a prolific screenwriter, and, of course, he’s Lieutenant Jim Dangle on Reno 911!. We do talk about new boot goofing. Matter of fact, he actually grabbed the boots, he’s got the boots, they exist, so you don’t want to miss that. I’ve had a bunch of friends on, I’ve had Travis Kelce talking about football. Just wonderful people, Jake Johnson. Will Forte, Eric Stonetreet, just a bunch of friends on.
And then coming up, we’re gonna be having my former co-host — and hopefully co-host again someday — Joe Tessitore from Holey Moley, he’ll be coming up. Paul Scheer, one of the great comedians and great comedic actors who, he and I came up together at the UCB Theater, we’ve been performing together for 20 years. And then some musicians, we’ve got some great musicians coming up, Chris Daughtry is coming up, we’ve got Richard Patrick from Nine Inch Nails and Filter. So, just people that I find to be interesting, and really cool hangs, I’m so excited. We’ve got some fun people coming up over the next month.
That’s amazing, I look forward to hearing all of them on the show. I actually then want to spin off on a couple of those people. First and foremost, Tom Lennon, I love him. I’ve interviewed him a few times, and Reno 911! remains one of my favorite things of his. Have you guys ever talked about trying to get you on that show, especially now that it’s actually back, and they’re doing all the specials and the new episodes?
Rob Riggle: We’ve never talked about it. But I hope he knows all he has to do is ask, and I’m there in any capacity. Because I’m a fan of the show, I’m a fan of those characters. I don’t want to bother him, I don’t want to knock on the door and say, “I’m here, what do you want me to do?” It’s up to him, but yes, oh my gosh, I wish I would have a chance. I would love it because I just think the world of that show, and again, the cast, they’re great comedians, all of them.
I think you would fit so perfectly in that world, especially since you do come from that world of improv and so much of that show is just chaotic improv, it would be perfect for you. You mentioned Jake Johnson, I loved you guys in Let’s Be Cops, I still rewatch that from time to time. But I also loved you as Big Schmidt on New Girl. A lot of the main cast keep kind of swirling the idea of maybe reviving the show at some point, or revisiting it in some way. If they found a way to bring back Big Schmidt in a storyline, would you be open to doing so?
Rob Riggle: 100%. Absolutely. No doubt, no question. Because, again, I love that cast too. And that show was way more impactful than people realize. People love that show. I get asked about that as much as I get asked about anything else I’ve ever done. And I loved that character too. [Chuckles] So yeah, count me in. All we got to do is ask.
I actually did want to ask about that, too. Streaming has just blown that show up to crazy proportions, where it’s now multiple services are battling over the rights. Even though you were only a recurring player on it, what is it still like looking back on that, and seeing that growth since the show has ended?
Rob Riggle: Well, I’m just happy for it. I’m happy for everybody involved with that show, they deserve it. Like you said, I was just a reoccurring player, I wasn’t there that much at all, but they built something really incredible. They built these wonderful characters that people care about, and are interested in, and those actors made those characters interesting, and people we care about. So, hats off to Zooey, and Jake, and everybody. They just did an amazing job, and they deserve any success that comes their way with that show, which they already had success. I love the fact that people still want more and more and more. That’s great, that speaks volumes.
About Miller Lite Super Bowl Campaign
This year, Miller Lite isn’t running an ad in the Big Game. Instead, they’re running a 1,000 – literally. Instead of opting for one thirty-second commercial in the Big Game, Miller Lite is running a thousand ads by inviting everyday fans to become literal beer ads on game day.
Miller Lite is working with actor, comedian, lifelong football enthusiast, and Miller Lite fan Rob Riggle to be their lead beer runner, encouraging fans to sign up and participate in Running of the Beer Ads.
One thousand interested beer-lovers who want to follow in Rob Riggle’s footsteps can partake in the official Running of the Beer Ads and will have the opportunity to receive a Miller Game Time Jersey with QR code to wear on game day plus $100.
On Feb 11, people who scan the QR code on any Miller Game Time Jersey will have the chance to enjoy a beer on Miller Lite’s tab. Plus, the top five fans whose Miller Game Time Jerseys get scanned and entered the most during the game will receive beer for a year for having the most seen ads.
