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Belgium crushes 2,000 High Life cans for 'Champagne of Beers' slogan

A trade body asked Belgian customs to take action against Miller High Life in order to protect French wine producers.
Comite Champagne worker crushing empty Miller High Life beer cans.
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Belgian customs crushed over 2,000 cans of Miller High Life after a trade body requested the action as part of its effort to protect producers of wine from the Champagne region of France. 

The Miller brand has labeled its High Life beer as "The Champagne of Beers" for a long time.

The action was prompted by a call by the Comité Champagne, after which a delivery containing 2,352 cans of the beer was crushed. 

The group says the slogan negatively impacts protections put in place for the "Champagne" origin designation. 

While Belgium customs did not release information on who ordered the beer to Europe, the owner of the brand, Molson Coors Beverage Co., does not export its product to the European Union. The beer was to eventually land in Germany, but it never made it. 

Miller High Life is considered a legacy brand and has been using the tag line for about 100 years. 

During the Second World War, planned scarcity for the beer brand and loyalty from military members created increased national demand. Miller Brewing company invested heavily in national advertising on radio and television and in print. Sponsored sports broadcasts and national television shows played the ads. 

The company later began marketing High Life to a younger demographic, and it hit a new generation. 

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