The controversy was more familiar to Americans than the Lincoln-Douglas debates. For 17 years, argumentative ex-athletes wrestled with the weighty question of whether they drank Miller Lite beer because it "Tastes great!" or is "Less filling!" The ad campaign created a vast demand for low-calorie brews at a time when Miller Lite was virtually the only supply -- in 1975 it constituted 96% of light-beer sales. However, the 1980s produced challenges from Coors Light and Bud Light, which drained Miller's share to 33%.
Miller Lite will counterattack this week by abandoning the taste-vs.- calories contretemps in favor of a new slogan....