The “Got Milk?” campaign launched in 1993 intending to promote the consumption of milk. This campaign was created due to the decline in milk sales in California. The California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) campaign quickly caught fire and became a cultural phenomenon.
what made the campaign so successful?
The simplicity. The celebrities. The message.
Every single commercial, billboard, and advertisement in the campaign embodies a message sent with simplicity, yet passion. The slogan, “Got Milk?” is short, catchy, easy to remember and versatile. This allowed for it to be used in varying contexts and media formats.
The celebrities they chose were extremely diverse. As shown above, celebrities from all professions were featured such as actors, athletes, and musicians who all attract wide audiences. Names such as Beyoncé, Shaquille O’Neal, Tom Brady, Taylor Swift, Brittney Spears, Chrissy Teigen, Batman, Serena and Venus Williams, the Olsen twins, and Harrison Ford, all of whose ads are displayed in this post, along with many more go to show the depths of how successful this campaign became. This brought a sense of relatability to the campaign for viewers as seeing their favorite celebrity have a milk-stache, just like we had as a kid light a fire in our hearts and we were encapsulated by the campaign and the act of drinking milk.
The message was portrayed with a light-hearted, humorous tone. The scenarios often portrayed relatable life scenarios for all humans, driving that relatability factor with playful humor incorporated. This rooted approach in the campaign is what we deem the most successful aspect of this campaign.
The impact that this campaign made was astronomical in the advertising industry. There had been no such campaign to successfully become a part of pop culture. This campaign led the path for the current advertising approach. The milk mustache became an iconic image and the slogan was commonly referenced, further embedding it in the public mind. As expected with such an incredible public reaction, the campaign successfully boosted milk sales in California. This campaign had a large cultural impact and proved the effectiveness of a successful campaign in changing consumer behavior.
- Sienna Kent, Rivably Founder
Leave a Reply