A BREWING BATTLE

Former Cornell-Vikings-Jets running back Ed Marinaro (late of “Hill St. Blues”) will go head-to-head with ex-UCLA quarterback Mark Harmon (late of “St. Elsewhere”) when Marinaro starts pitching Miller High Life beer later this month in ads similar to the Harmon’s sober, outdoorsy Coors campaign.

Marinaro once was considered for the Coors spots, according to Gary Naifeh, Coors brand director, but they mutually agreed to break off discussions. Marinaro’s agent, Steve Glick, told us that his client “regretted it when he saw (the quality of) the Coors campaign.”

Miller High Life has been on a five-year sales plunge and a company spokesman said that Marinaro (who’ll be playing a bachelor looking for Miss Right in the ABC movie “Single Men” on Feb. 2) was picked as a booster because of his “believable, straightforward” image. The Miller made-the-American-way spots will give way to the theme of “Seeing Is Believing,” emphasizing the label’s use of roasted malt to create a darker, richer beer.

Since Coors Harmon-ized its TV commercials on Feb. 4, 1985, the company has had “record sales,” according to Naifeh. A total of 11 Harmon spots have been shot, with the first of five new ones introduced in late December.

“We’re flattered that Miller recognizes the strength of our campaign,” Naifeh said. “But I suspect that Miller does not have the unique points of difference that will enable their campaign to work as well as ours.”

Naifeh said that it’s Harmon’s “credibility and honesty” that has made the campaign so successful: “We don’t see him as a paid celebrity but as an advocate of our product.”

Outtakes couldn’t help asking if Harmon really drank the stuff before signing for the big bucks, as he implied in early spots.

“Absolutely,” said Naifeh. “I’m sure he drank other brands, as people do. But both he and his dad were both Coors drinkers.”