I have noticed recently that characters in modern movies, that take place 20 to 30 years ago, usually drink Miller High Life. I noticed this in Starsky and Hutch most recently. I am wondering what the reason is. I searched Google and found that MHL was the #2 selling beer behing Budweiser in 1979 and today it ranks #9. So maybe past popularity has a lot to do with it. I also noticed that the packaging seems to be exactly the same now as it was back then. Which means there is no need to waste time or money finding or creating the bottles from 30 years ago. Has anyone else noticed this or have any insight into this?
I remember back during that period MHL being much more ubiquitous, as Coors wasn’t yet available in Texas (anywhere outside Colorado?) and the advent and subsequent popularity of “Lite” beers was still several years away. Plus, it was cheap. You couls buy a six of MHL for $1.89.
That’s interesting though that the movies are picking up on this. Very observant of them… and you.
Lite Beer from Miller (it didn’t become “Miller Lite” until the late eighties or early nineties) had a classic series of commercials that really helped its popularity. My dad worked for Miller back then and we still have a hilarious blooper reel tape with Rodney Dangerfield, Mickey Spillane, Marv Throneberry (“I still don’t know why they wanted me to do this commerical…”), etc.
Mmmmm Miller High Life.
My favorite beer, but you can’t find it in too many bars these days.
E3
I stopped drinking Bud Light because, going by the TV ads, I’m just not sneaky enough or stupid enough to drink it. I drank Miller red label for awhile, then they quit selling it. Miller High Life was a pretty close match, though. It has reasonably good taste, and the mouthfeel is unmatched. Those High Life TV ads have a wry humor that I like. “The High Life man knows, if the Pharoahs had had duct tape, the Sphinx would still have a nose.” I’m still a little miffed at Anhueser-Busch for selling the baseball team.
I try to only patronize bars that carry High Life. At my local bar, they put some bottles on ice for me when I walk in.
I know Miller was an advertiser in Jackass: The Movie.
They got all the High Life they could drink. I think ‘Beat up by a girl’ scene, Ryan Dunn says “I sure could go for a Miller High Life” (Except for most of the movie, they can be seen drinking primarily Corona)
I think it would be safe to assume that High Life is choosing the younger crowd with product placement. But keeping it on the DL by not having direct TV ads.
I actually prefer MHL to the rest of the mass-market brews. It tastes less watery than Anheuser products, and it’s always fairly inexpensive.
True story: Upon moving to Arizona, the wife and I stopped by the grocery store to get our supplies. I was surprised to note this strange listing of prices:
Pepsi (12-pack): $4.99
MHL (12-pack): $3.99
So, in effect, it was cheaper to get drunk than it was to drink a soda.
Guess which one I went home with. 
TexasPlayboy, the recent use of MHL in movies set during the 70’s has less to do with trying to recreate the look of the time and more to do with product placement. If they really wanted to accurately depict the beer people drank during the 70’s, they’d have more characters drinking Schlitz. During most of the decade, Schlitz was a strong number two in sales to Bud. Then, the brain trust that ran the company decided to change to a cheaper formula that resulted in a foul-tasting beer, run possibly the most horribly ineffective ad campaign in history, and screw over its loyal workers in Milwaukee by moving its brewing operations to a non-union state in the southwest. Within only a few years, the sales of Schlitz were a shadow of what they once were. Now, if you do see anywhere, it usually takes up a tiny portion of shelf space in the beer section and costs no more than the watery generic or “animal” brews.