MILLER BREWS WITH SI AND HARLEY-DAVIDSON

WILLIAM SMYTH

MILWAUKEE -- Miller Brewing Co. here will kick off summer promotions with some help from Sports Illustrated and Harley-Davidson.

For the first time Miller and SI will team up on displays that offer a custom-published magazine titled "Best of the Swimsuit Supermodels: 1964-1999." The 48-page publication spans 35 years of swimsuit photography.

These magazine displays are part of the Miller Lite and Miller Genuine Draft "Instant Summer, Just Add Beer" promotion and will be available wherever Miller beer is sold. Display units holding 25 copies of the special edition, which retails at $2.95, will be shipped to supermarkets, convenience stores and liquor stores starting in May.

The other two parts of Miller's summer kick-off campaign will be for Memorial Day and Fourth of July selling windows.

The first promotion is a sweepstakes in which participants can win a trip to an SI swimsuit photo shoot. Prizes will be awarded via instant-win in-pack certificates or from tear-off entries available on displays. A new element in this three-year-old promotion is an in-pack coupon good for a $1 off the newsstand price of SI magazine. Coupons are seeded in specially marked packages of Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft and Miller Genuine Draft Light.

The Fourth of July phase features a Harley-Davidson motorcycle giveaway.

Fourth of July point-of-sale materials include Harley-Davidson-themed cutouts, display cards, banners, danglers and logo stickers.