The “got milk?” Campaign

In the early 1990s Pepsi had created an advertising empire. They were creating new and exciting products and flavors while captivating a generation. Meanwhile the healthier option of milk seemed bland and boring.

The average amount of milk consumed had been steadily declining over the decade of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. Basically, the population was increasing while the number of individuals consuming milk was declining. This resulted in many advertising experts labeling milk as a “lost cause.”

CFMPAB was formed as result of the plummeting milk consumption numbers. This committee was made up of advertising experts and shareholders in the dairy industry. This board was formed in a desperate attempt to reach a common goal, selling more milk.

The creative brief for this campaign basically stated, “start from scratch.” This means that there are essentially no rules and no limits to what could be done. The committee decided to focus on changing the behavior of the consumer rather than the “brand” of milk.

After the committee did extensive research about milk consumption in the state of California, they decided to make the people of California think about milk differently. Milk had become seen as a complementary piece to other foods and beverages. For example, milk compliments cookies and compliments beverages such as coffee.

This is where the famous phrase originated. The committee thought that if milk was removed from the food and beverages compliment it would create more of a need for milk. THs deprivation strategy created the simple saying, “got milk?” This slogan was labeled as unclear and was not supported fully, but the saying began to take on a life of its own.

The “got milk?” campaign started as a regional experiment to see if the committee could increase the amount of milk sold. However, the campaign expanded beyond this. It launched in 1993 and in just four years, the campaign expanded to twenty-three different posters, twenty-five TV commercials, and twenty-five radio commercials.

“got milk?” has become an iconic phrase in American advertising. This campaign is still being used in present day advertising today, 25 years later, across all mediums. This is a rare occurrence in the advertising world. Many campaigns are seasonal and can often be short lived, especially if they are unsuccessful.

The “got milk?” campaign is an excellent example of how an agency can create something from nothing. Milk was seen as boring, bland, and even tasteless before this campaign. Sales were dropping drastically fast with the rise of major soda advertising such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola. The CFMPAB created a simple, yet effective idea from a brief with no rules or boundaries. This campaign with the simple question, “got milk?” has lasted for a quarter of a century and showed the advertising world that anything can be sold.