Christopher Walken’s tie up with Miller Lite sparks debate
The actor Christopher Walken narrated a Miller Lite advert this year and yet the response from fans has been mixed. While some feel the link up belittles his reputation, others have been supportive of the move.
The advertising collaboration between Walken and the Molson Coors owned beer brand Miller Lite began back in March as part of the brand’s 50th anniversary and uses the catchline: “Legendary stories start with a lite” delivered by Walken after he has narrated reasons why the brand is “the originator” of the light beer category.
Despite the advertisement’s popularity, the author Peter Sagal spoke up on the social media platform Bluesky this week to satirise the working relationship between Molson Coors and Walken. In a damning skeet, Sagal said: “If things weren’t bad enough, I just heard Christopher Walken narrate a beer commercial. Yes, I know he’s done ads. But still.”
In response to Sagal’s complaint, the author Kelly McCullough suggested that Molson Coors may have missed a trick by not running with the tagline “These beers were made for Walken” as an alternative.
During the 30-second advert spot, Walken asks the viewer: “If this can could talk, would it tell stories?” The advert is then cut with images of the late sports legends John Madden, Dick Butkus and Bob Uecker, who all did Miller Lite adverts. The advert also features David Bowie’s song Rebel Rebel playing in the background.
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One response to Sagal’s dismay over the advertising pointed out that Walken’s involvement in narrating the advert gave the beer a layer of mystery and explained: “Christopher Walken has a way of making even the most mundane thing feel intense and slightly ominous. A beer commercial with him narrating? Suddenly your casual sip feels like the start of a thriller.” While another response insisted that the partnership reduced Walken’s gravitas and said: “A-listers” doing commercials IMHO degrades the profession. It would be like Rembrandt selling velvet Elvis paintings.”
Walken has, over the years, given the craft beer scene across the US a certain edge, perhaps unwittingly, which makes his connections to a big commercial beer brand all the more surprising. As a cult favourite, Walken’s image has adorned walk-in coolers across taprooms and bars across America with each one affectionately being renamed “the Walken cooler”. The connection which led to a series of memes and Walken film quotes ensured since as early as 2018, making the actor’s 2025 involvement with Molson Coors seem all the more galling to craft beer and film fans alike.
Irrespective of the blend of open fury and amusement online, a balanced view was given by Reggie Dunlop from Vancouver who concluded that Walken has earned the right to do whatever he wants because of both his status as an actor as well as the respect he has earned by his age.Dunlop silenced the haters with succinctness and added: “Dude is 82, free pass.”
Last year, Molson Coors showed how macro beer was on the up and continued to smash expectations, but this isn’t the first time its Miller Lite brand has been the subject of controversy for its advertising.
db has reached out to Molson Coors for further comment, but the beer giant has so far stayed silent.
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