Is the USP dead?

The best thing you can say is that your beer has a bottle cap. Really?
At least Bud Light's "Make your mark" campaign had a gimmick that was more fun.

But Budweiser isn’t the only large American beer brand that has struggled to offer a Unique Selling Proposition.

(Miller Light Vortex Bottle ad via flickr.)
But nobody does beer marketing "innovations" better than Coor Light.

(Coors Light Cold Activated Bottle ad via ManBeerLove.com.)

(Coors Light Wide Mouth Can ad via Jan Meise.)
All of which set up a different approach when another beer brand released a redesigned can.

(Heineken ads via psychommercials.com.)

But of course, for big brands, the U.S.P. has always been a bit of smoke and mirrors.

On a related note, Fast Company’s Co.Design recently had an interesting piece on the death of three of the Four P’s of marketing (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.)

(This December, I'm posting all the ads I never got around to earlier this year. Stay tuned.)