"We feel we needed to make a change in order to upgrade Miller's performance," said Philip Morris spokesman Christopher Kircher. In addition to MacDonough, the company said it let go John P. Rooney, 41 years old, Miller's vice-president for marketing, and Christopher R. Moore, 46, vice- president, sales. None of the three executives could be reached for comment.

MacDonough, 55, will be succeeded by John D. Bowlin, 48, chief executive officer of Philip Morris's Kraft Foods International division and a former president and chief operating officer of Miller, the company said.

One ad-industry executive who knows Bowlin called him a "boy wonder" who is on Philip Morris's "fast track." Bowlin's skills are certain to be tested as he tries to regain ground that Miller,America's number two brewer, has lost to industry leader Anheuser-Busch Cos., maker of Budweiser. Miller Lite's market share, for example, fell to eight per cent in 1998, while Bud Light's rose to 13 per cent in the same year.

Wall Street analysts said they believe the leadership change was overdue. "Miller for many, many years now has been poorly managed," said Skip Carpenter, an analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Carpenter said the company lost its way, focusing on new products at the expense ofits main Miller Lite and Miller Genuine Draft brands.

A round of price cuts Miller initiated in 1997 also didn't help, leaving the company weakened financially while failing to deliver any lasting market-share gains, Carpenter said. The company has also alienated distributors and retailers, analysts say, and one of Bowlin's most important tasks will be to rebuild those relationships.

One of the sorest points with distributors has been Miller's advertising campaigns. The beer company recently pulled theplug on a series of ads for Miller Lite that featured women with rodent hair growing under their arms and a man dressed like a woodchuck devouring a log cabin.

In its place, Miller dusted off an old strategy: using celebrities to debate the merits of MillerLite. Critics have panned the new ads as nothing more than a watered-down version of the company's wellknown "Tastes Great, Less Filling" ads. Michael Bellas, chairman of Beverage Marketing Corp., a New York consulting firm, said the executive shuffle raises questions about how long Miller Lite's new ad campaign may run. "The tea leaves save this may not do it," he said.

Madison Avenue is already bracing for a shakeup. Miller Lite's current agency is Fallon McElligott in Minneapolis. Wieden & Kennedy, which creates ads for Miller Genuine Draft, the company's number two brand, was recently told to redo ads after Miller distributors panned its new campaign. Agencies with close ties to Philip Morris that could conceivably benefit from the managementchange include Young & Rubicam and Leo Burnett.

Responding to a question about any changes in Miller's agency lineup, a spokeswoman for Miller said it would be "premature to even try to discuss it." Philip Morris also said it named Roger K. Deromedi, 45, to succeed Bowlin at Kraft. Deromedi was previously group vice-president at the unit.

The Asian Wall Street Journal