Nicole Torossian

Analysis of “Got Milk?,” and “Milk Life”

February 22, 2017
PRS 441
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Part I – Overview

“The [twenty-one-year-old] ‘Got Milk?’ campaign is one the most loved, imitated, and awarded

campaigns in marketing history” (James, 2015, “got milk? A brief history”). As a millennial, it was hard

for me to watch TV in the 90’s without my favorite show being interrupted by a got milk? commercial.

The got milk? campaign has an inspirational history that originated in California; in the mid-1990’s,

Californians were not drinking enough milk, due to the growing popularity of juices, soft drinks, and

coffee drinks, which contain enormous amounts of calories and sugar; these types of drinks are not

healthy to consume on a daily basis. More importantly, milk consumption per capita in California had

dropped an astonishing six percent between 1987 and 1992. Well-known beverage companies such as

PepsiCo, Inc. and the Coca-Cola Company were spending around $100 million per year to advertise their

growing brand, while the National Dairy Board and the government-run California Milk Advisory board,

the two boards that funded California’s dairy advertising, were spending a meager $13 million combined

to promote the statewide consumption of dairy products.

Realizing that further assistance was needed to promote dairy products in California, the

California Department of Food and Agriculture formed the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) in

1993. A few months later, the ad agency Goodby, Silverstein and Partners (GS&P) created the ‘‘Got

Milk?’’ campaign with the CMPB’s $23 million annual budget. Jeff Goodby, the cochairman of GS&P

formed the premise of the Got Milk? campaign by offering a compelling explanation for most consumers’

need for milk. He suggested building a campaign around his theory that milk is usually consumed with

something else, and the only time consumers really wanted/thought about milk was when they’ve run out

of it.

In the years following, millions of American’s learned of the ‘‘Got Milk?” campaign; the print,

television, radio, and billboard campaign debuted on October 29, 1993, with a television spot titled

“Aaron Burr.” The spot featured a history scholar who lost a radio trivia contest because his mouth was

full of a peanut-butter sandwich and he was out of milk. “Aaron Burr” won several awards, including

three Gold Clios, the Grand Prix Clio for Commercial of the Year, one Gold EFFIE, and one Silver Lion
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at the 1994 Cannes International Advertising Festival, all of which demonstrated the campaign’s

tremendous success.

There were three objectives to the “Got Milk?” campaign: to change the public’s

behavior regarding milk; to create the idea of “milk occasions” by associating the

product with certain foods; and to curb the decline in sales by convincing people to buy

milk more often and in larger quantities. Changing behavior, in addition to attitudes, was

done with carefully placed media. A consumption strategy focused on

coordinating the appropriate food with the time of day that a commercial was aired (for

example, a cereal commercial in the morning or late at night), because most milk

drinking occurred at home.

Two years after the start of the “Got Milk?” campaign, in 1995, The slogan "Got Milk?" was

licensed to the National Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) to use on their celebrity print ads,

which have included celebrities from the fields of sports, media and entertainment, and even fictional

characters from TV, video games, and film. The Milk Mustache campaign was started, which featured

celebrities sporting the famous “milk mustache,” that resulted from their need to wash down their food

with milk, in print ads, commercials, billboards, and more. The Milk Mustache campaign allowed the

Got Milk campaign to partner with national brands and products that were perfect accompaniments with

milk, leveraging their larger national budgets to achieve a mutual marketing goal (James, 2015, “got

milk? A brief history”).

‘“We’re going to jolt Californians out of their milk malaise,” Jeff Manning, executive director of

the CMPB, announced in the news service Business Wire days before the campaign was released. “Our

focus is on action, not just attitude change. Increasing milk consumption at home is our only objective.”’

GS&P conducted two surveys, one being telephone interviews using quantitative research, and the

second, were focus groups, using qualitative research.

GS&P’s research revealed that 70 percent of residents of California drink milk, and 88

percent of milk was consumed at home. It was typically used as an accompaniment to

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food, such as peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, cereal, brownies, and chocolate-chip

cookies. Backing up Jeff Goodby’s original suggestion, the research concluded “the only

time people even think about milk at all is when they don’t have any.” When focus-

group participants (who had not had any milk for a week) got together, they reported that

they usually did not think about milk at all but that “they had been painfully aware of it in

its absence over the previous few days, and that absence had been more frustrating in the

context of certain foods, which were not the same without milk.

Because of these initial findings, the focus of the Got Milk? campaign was born; the deprivation

theory. The deprivation strategy grew out of the simple observation that nobody thinks about milk until

it’s not there, as well as the fact that milk is often consumed with other foods (Bali Sunset, 2008,

Marketing Campaign Case Studies – Got Milk? Campaign).

“Well in advance of the eye-opening 2000 Census, GS&P recognized the importance of

America’s largest and fastest-growing demographic, Hispanics, and launched the original Spanish-

language campaign, Familia, Amor y Leche (Family, Love and Milk,)” in 1996, until 2005.

GS&P was aware of the American trends, so “after 12 years of the “Deprivation” campaign, “Got

Milk?” had become a part of everyday vernacular, but milk as a product was running into the steamroller

of the low-carb diet craze, which demonized many of the foods that were milk’s natural match. The

“Superdrink” strategy was born. The goal was to reaffirm milk’s nutritional powerhouse” (James, 2015,

“got milk? A brief history”).

The “Got Milk” campaign targeted very specific audiences. Gallup’s study, which assessed

record milk consumption habits statewide, reported that people were drinking less milk for three reasons:

they perceived that milk was high in fat, that it was a children’s drink, and that milk was boring compared

with other drinks, especially sodas. In addition, the Gallup study found that many Californians believed

they should drink more milk.

Previous campaigns had tried to stop the decline by portraying milk as cool, fun, and cutting-

edge, similar to advertising strategies for sodas. As GS&P put it, campaigns for milk “had lively jingles,
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and healthy looking people with lustrous hair, perfect teeth and fine muscle definition [who] sang [about]

it, jogged with it, and danced with it.”

After failing to succeed with these advertising strategies, GS&P decided that previous advertising

had been aimed at the wrong people. Instead of targeting the 30 percent of people who did not drink milk

at all, GS&P decided to aim its campaign at the 70 percent who did drink milk, and more importantly,

were mistakenly ignored by the earlier campaigns. This approach would convince the 70 percent who

already drink milk, to consume it more frequently, or in larger amounts.

A representative of the ad agency explained, “persuading people who are not doing something to

do it (whether again or for the first time) tends to be harder than persuading people who are already doing

it to do it more often.” One year after the campaign began, milk sales in California had increased 7

percent (Bali Sunset, 2008, Marketing Campaign Case Studies – Got Milk? Campaign).

The outcome of the Got Milk? campaign proved to be successful; the campaign objective to

change behavior and increase milk consumption was met. Nielsen panels found that household

penetration had increased from 70 percent in 1993 to 74 percent in 1995. The Nielsen household panel

results showed that, except for the first two months of the campaign, milk consumption in California

increased over the previous year, while it declined nationally—the reverse of the situation before the

campaign began.

By 1994, the sales decline reported by California milk processors in 1993 had been halted.

According to Merrie Spaeth of Spaeth Communications, “ ‘Got Milk’ is an example of a great,

memorable ad. Milk sales have not moved. Most people who create advertising want to win awards.

They ought to be using advertising to accomplish some business purpose. If milk sales haven’t moved

and the population is expanding, that means fewer people are drinking milk. It’s a brilliant campaign, but

its art, not advertising” (Levine, 2003, p. 142).

The ‘‘Got Milk?’’ campaign made its mark in advertising by collecting nearly every industry

award, including multiple Clio awards, several EFFIEs, a number of gold ADDY awards, a Silver Lion at

the Cannes International Advertising Festival, and a David Ogilvy Research Award.
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According to GS&P, a 1999 national survey revealed that awareness for the tagline “Got Milk?”

was twelve times greater than the slogan for Pepsi, sox times greater than the sports drink Gatorade’s

tagline “Life’s a sport. Drink it up,” and four times greater than Coke’s slogan “Enjoy.” In 2003, the

CMPB reported that the campaign had a 97 percent awareness rate in California. (Bali Sunset, 2008,

Marketing Campaign Case Studies – Got Milk? Campaign).

Today, the “Got Milk?” campaign remains one of the most loved campaigns in advertising

history; “in very little time, 90 percent of adults were familiar with the “Got Milk?” campaign (Del

Vecchio, 2014, “Got Milk? Got fired: 5 valuable lessons that all executives must heed”).
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Part II – Data Analysis

The Got Milk? campaign was established in a timely matter. According to the California Milk

Advisory Board, from 1980 to 1993 annual milk consumption in California dropped from 30 to 24.1

gallons of milk per person (Bali Sunset, 2008, Marketing Campaign Case Studies – Got Milk?

Campaign). Going to battle with fruit juices and soft drinks, the CMPB aimed to position milk to the

public as a necessity, but at the same time, the board realized that the public does not think about milk

being absent from their refrigerator until it is actually not there. Processors agreed to a framework of

assessing themselves three cents for every gallon they sold in order to create a marketing fund to convince

consumers to drink more milk (James, 2015, “got milk? A brief history”).

As aforementioned, the goal of the Got Milk? campaign was to convince people to buy more

milk, and to convince them to drink more milk. In order to achieve these goals, the CMPB had to decide

what the best persuasive tactics would be in order to convince the public to change their behaviors in

relation to milk. The CMBP used the persuasive tactic of celebrity endorsement, starting in 1995. Well-

known celebrities were pictured in print and television ads sporting the milk mustache. Words of

encouragement were written about the celebrity and why milk is the best choice for the celebrity. From

there, the Got Milk? campaign adopted two of its famous taglines, “Milk does the body good,” and “Body

by milk.”

An example of the celebrity endorsed Got Milk? ad is the 2007 print ad that features actress

Hayden Panettiere. The advertisement reads: “Smash hit by Hayden. Body by milk. You don’t have to

be a hero to feel invincible. That’s why I drink milk. The protein helps build muscle and some studies

suggest teens who choose it tend to be leaner. Cheers to that. Got milk?” Over 50 celebrities have been

featured in Got Milk ads over the years, and this has helped to increase the sale of milk in America. By

using celebrities, the campaign gains the attention of those interested in the celebrities featured.

A second tactic used to persuade in the Got Milk? campaign was the idea of the deprivation

theory. As aforementioned, the deprivation theory was introduced in the Got Milk? campaign to make

people realize how milk is a staple in American’s lives, especially when it is not there. Jon Steel wrote in
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his book, titled Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Businesses,

By contrast, my agency’s got milk? campaign set out with the express aim of changing

behavior: persuading people to buy more milk and persuading them to consume more.

Exactly how we did it, our client said, did not matter in the slightest. The end would

justify the means. Our proposed solution was to create desire for milk through the kinds

of food that had never been previously featured in milk advertising on health grounds

(peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and the like), but

which were all perfect companions to milk. We proposed stimulating increased purchase

by reminding people how terrible it was to run out of milk – a situation made infinitely

worse in the presence of one of those companion foods. The resulting campaign s

succeeded in increasing milk sales in California for the first time in decades, because its

objective and strategy were set in a context of truth. It was based on the way that people

really use milk – not the way they have been taught to talk about it (Steel, 2007, p. 30-

31).

The obvious visual elements in the Got Milk? campaign played a crucial role in the success of the

campaign. Each celebrity in the print ads wore a fake milk mustache to get their point across. By

wearing fake milk mustaches (although they were perceived as real,) this brought the act of drinking milk

to life. The message being sent was supposed to say, “if this celebrity is drinking milk so much that

he/she has a milk mustache, so should you.” Rather than just seeing what the celebrity has to say about

how important it is to drink milk, it resonated better with the audience to actually know that the celebrity

drank milk, because of his/her famous milk mustache. In addition, the audience would better remember

the photo of the celebrity wearing the milk mustache more than just seeing a normal photo of the featured

celebrity.

The Hispanic versus American culture has recently adopted different viewpoints on the

consumption of milk. We, as Americans, have regarded milk as a significant nutritional beverage,

especially for children. I, as well as other millennials, grew up on the notion that milk makes our bones
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strong and makes us grow. Milk or water was my only choice for a dinner beverage, and I would not be

allowed to leave the dinner table until I finished my cup of milk. Adding chocolate syrup to my 2% milk

was considered a dessert. This value placed in milk extended to elementary schools. Milk was served at

snack time and lunchtime. We believed that consuming milk was an integral part of our diet until the

emergence of the vegan philosophy. The opinion on milk consumption changed when

Vegan diets became more accepted. At the same, women believed that milk had too many calories, and

thus stayed away from milk.

About 15 years ago, the Hispanic community became an influencer in our society. Contrary to

Americans, the Hispanic community embraces milk consumption. The Hispanic mother would never be

without milk in her fridge.

Daniel Granderson, writer for marketresearch.com, wrote,

Without Hispanic households, the dairy industry would have seen a sharp

decline in the volume of milk consumed on a daily basis between 2004 and 2013. As a

result, Hispanics were responsible for all of the growth in milk consumption during the

period. Further, the growing numbers of Hispanic consumers is good for the whole milk

category. According to the USDA, when measured in terms of the average amount of

different types of dairy products consumed by consumers each day, Hispanics allocate a

much higher percentage to whole milk (52% vs. 30%). Compared to American

consumers as a whole, Hispanics drink 66% more whole milk (Granderson, 2015,

“Hispanic influence growing in the dairy and dairy alternative beverages market”).

American’s consume reduced fat or fat free milk, while the Hispanic community enjoys whole

milk. The American and Hispanic community have different viewpoints on the nutritional value and

consumption of milk.

In terms of sales, the impact of this campaign did not have positive results until a few years later.

“Among all milk products, the lesser fat milk products have seen the most sales growth as a result of the

campaign, while whole milk and flavored milks have not been negatively affected” (Ng, Ray, Yang, Yan,
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“Generic Advertising – got milk?”) The Nielsen household panel results showed that, except for the first

two months of the campaign, milk consumption in California increased over the previous year, while it

declined nationally—the reverse of the situation before the campaign began.

By 1994, the sales decline reported by California milk processors in 1993 had been halted.

According to Nielsen scanner data, California milk sales increased 7 percent from 1993 to 1994, while

national sales figures were unchanged. A GS&P report noted that sales grew by 13.5 million gallons, or

$34 million. The 3.5 percent decrease in 1993 sales, together with the 1994 percentages, represented “a

swing of 5.3 percent, or 40 million gallons, or $100 million dollars.”

The Got Milk? campaign is an award winning campaign, having won three Gold Clios. As cited

on clios.com, “the Clios is the esteemed international awards competition for the creative business.

Founded in 1959 to celebrate high achievement in advertising, the Clios annually and throughout the year

recognize the work, the agencies and the talent that push boundaries and establish new precedent.” The

“Aaron Burr” commercial also won the Grand Prix Clio for Commercial of the Year, one gold Effie,

which, according to effie.org, “Effie Worldwide stands for effectiveness in marketing communications,

spotlighting marketing ideas that work and encouraging thoughtful dialogue about the drivers of

marketing effectiveness. The Effie network works with some of the top research and media organizations

worldwide to bring its audience relevant and first-class insights into effective marketing strategy.” The

Got Milk? campaign is also considered an award-winning campaign as demonstrated by possession of the

Silver Lion, earned at the 1994 Cannes International Advertising Festival. According to canneslions.com,

“The Cannes Lions Awards celebrate the best creative work in the world. Winning at the Festival puts

you among the world’s creative elite: the Lion is recognized globally as the ultimate achievement in

branded communications. It truly is the one to win.”

After twenty years of the Got Milk? campaign, the CMPB decided to retire the campaign and

shift its focus to identify with the changing lives of Americans. Milk Life, made by the advertising

agency Lowe Campbell Ewald, shifted the focus from celebrity-based Got Milk? campaign toward a more

everyday-person specific sales pitch based on milk’s protein content. It was highlighted that half of all
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milk consumption happens in the morning, so the regular American should start each morning with a

glass of milk, which contains protein. Julia Kadison, the interim C.E.O. of MilkPEP, said that protein is

“really in the news and on consumer’s minds. But a lot of people don’t know that milk has protein, so it

was very important to make that connection. …The milk industry has had a tough bill over the last few

years. Consumers seem to be forgetting about milk. They needed to be educated or reminded of the

nutritional value of milk" (Durando, 2014, “Milk Life Replaces Got Milk Ad Campaign”). Milk Life is

trying “to show how starting your morning with milk can help power the potential of every day”

(Kardashian, 2014, “The end of got milk?”).

“The national group, known as MilkPEP, plans to spend more than $50 million on the campaign,

which will include TV, print, digital, retail promotions and PR. One TV ad visually depicts liquid milk

powering consumers through activities like running, playing basketball or playing in a rock band”

(Schultz, 2014, “Got Milk Dropped as National Milk Industry Changes Tactics”).

Health trends change, so it is important that the campaign changes to cater to the audience, as

well.

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Part III – Analysis of Social Media in “Got Milk?” and “Milk Life”

The focus of the Milk Life campaign is on two specific aspects: everyday people consuming milk

and the health benefits associated with milk. Since Got Milk? has been around since 1993, it this

campaign did not get the chance to incorporate social media from the start, but rather has taken advantage

of social media only about eight years ago, being that this campaign ran for twenty years. Had social

media been around since the start of the campaign, I am sure it would have seen tremendous positive

affects. Milk Life, being a newer campaign, has embraced social media strategies since the start.

Although Got Milk? has been retired, the campaign still has an active social media presence on

Twitter (@GotMilk, 11k followers), Instagram (@officialgotmilk, 16k followers), Facebook (Got Milk,

137k likes), Youtube (got milk, 589 subscribers), and their own website. Although these numbers are not

high enough to make an impression on social media, they are still relatively high considering that the

campaign is no longer running. Got Milk? currently embraces Twitter and Instagram the most, as they

post in line with their brand image. Since Got Milk? was a campaign focused on foods that go well with

milk, they have made sure they have kept this consistent in their social media posts, as most of their posts

consist of treats and recipes for foods that are the perfect pairing with milk, or contain milk. On February

10, Got Milk? posted to their Twitter: “From flourless #apple #brownies to chocolate drizzled pretzel

#brownies, we got your covered!”

Milk Life, on the other hand, has been embracing social media since 2008, and has all of the same

social media platforms as Got Milk? has; Twitter (@MilkLife, 22k followers), Instagram (@milklife, 4k

followers), Facebook (Milk, 500k likes), Youtube (Milk), their own website, and Pinterest. Since the

premise of this campaign is to highlight milk’s nutritional benefits, especially protein, Milk Life

communicates messages to their audience on social media that focus on recipes containing milk, making

sure to mention that it contains protein, and is a great way to start your day. On February 6, Milk Life

posted to their Twitter: “Pour some milk, grab a sweet slice of this Monster Breakfast Pizza & help your

kids get AM protein #mymorningprotein”

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The integration of social media for both Got Milk? and Milk Life makes the campaign bigger

than ever. Social media has allowed both campaigns to go above and beyond their expectations, and

share inspiring and creative recipes, breakfast foods, and milk pairings with its target audience. Social

media has given the Got Milk? and Milk Life campaigns a voice; they are more than just a campaign, they

are a brand.

The needs of the average consumer has changed tremendously since the Got Milk? campaign first

started in 1993. The Hispanic population is becoming a more prevalent, and thus, influential culture in

our society. According to the U.S. Census, as of July 2015, 39 percent of California residents are of

Hispanic or Latino decent. The Hispanic population has impacted the Milk Life campaign because they

regard milk as a great source of nutrition, they eat at home, they value nutritional foods, and a Hispanic

mother is never without milk in the fridge. This is important because the Milk Life campaign focuses on

the nutritional benefit of milk, which resonates well with Hispanics. As cited on PR News Wire,

America's milk companies launch the widely talked about Milk Life campaign in

Spanish, the new multi-million dollar, cross-platform campaign designed to reinforce

how milk's many nutritional benefits – including high-quality protein – can help power

the everyday potential of Latino families. The new Milk Life Lo que nos hace fuertes

campaign is a Hispanic adaptation to the general market Milk Life campaign which was

introduced earlier this year. "Milk Life" spotlights everyday moments of accomplishment

and enjoyment, bringing to life how Hispanic families and individuals who include milk's

protein at breakfast make the most of every day (PR News Wire, 2014, “New Hispanic

Campaign Encourages Latinos to ‘Milk Life’ and Power Families' Everyday Potential”).

Twenty years ago, being lactose intolerant was not recognized as much as it is recently.

Therefore, Got Milk? was able to cater to anyone who drank milk and liked milk. But, Milk Life did not

have it as easy, due to consumers having certain allergies to milk, and/or the vegan lifestyle. Although

milk contains protein that is great for a diet, it is not beneficial to those with a food allergy such as being

lactose intolerant, or being a vegan. Luckily, other forms of milk have became popular, even to those
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who are not lactose intolerant or vegan, the most popular being almond milk, coconut milk, and cashew

milk. The Milk Life campaign lost a large target segment due to those with allergies or those who choose

to live a vegan lifestyle.

In conclusion, the Got Milk? campaign was started in 1993 by ad the agency Goodby, Silverstein

and Partners (GS&P), who created the campaign with the CMPB’s $23 million annual budget. The goal

was to get the public to consume more milk, and to do this, the campaign focused on the deprivation

strategy, which says that people do not think of milk until it is not there. The campaign also focused

heavily on pairing milk with foods such as cookies and brownies. To promote the consumption of milk,

the Got Milk? campaign used celebrities and had them wear the famous milk mustache. After twenty

years, the campaign reinvented itself and took on the name of Milk Life. Instead of pairing milk with

sweet foods, Milk Life incorporated everyday people, and focused on the nutritional benefit of milk, such

as protein. Both Got Milk? and Milk Life continue to live on in history as being the most loved

campaigns. Every 90’s kid all have one thing in common: we will never forget the Got Milk? campaign.
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Sources

Census.gov

Del Vecchio, G. (2014, March 12). Got Milk? Got Fired: 5 Valuable Lessons That All Executives Must
Heed. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gene-del-vecchio/got-
milk-got-fired-5-valu_b_4938176.html

James, S. (2015, June 26). Got Milk? (A brief history) [PDF]. Portland, OR: California Milk Processor
Board.

Granderson, D. (2015, June 23). Hispanic influence growing in the dairy and dairy alternative beverages
market. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from
https://www.packagedfacts.com/Content/Blog/2015/06/23/Hispanic-influence-growing-in-the-
dairy-and-dairy-alternative-beverages-market

Kardashian, K. (2014, February 28). The End of Got Milk? Retrieved February 15, 2017, from
http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-end-of-got-milk

Levine, M. (2003). A Branded World: Adventures in Public Relations and the Creation of Superbrands.
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

Milk Life. (2014, May 21). New Hispanic Campaign Encourages Latinos to "Milk Life" and Power
Families' Everyday Potential. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-hispanic-campaign-encourages-latinos-to-milk-
life-and-power-families-everyday-potential-260101361.html

Ng, D., Ray, M., Yang, X., & Yan, D. (n.d.). Generic Advertising - Got Milk? [PDF].

Schultz, E. (2014, February 24). 'Got Milk' Dropped as National Milk Industry Changes Tactics.
Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://adage.com/article/news/milk-dropped-national-milk-
industry-tactics/291819/

Steel, J. (2007). Perfect pitch: The art of selling ideas and winning new business. Hoboken, NJ: John
Wiley and Sons Ltd.

Sunset, B. (2008, April 21). Got Milk? Campaign. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://marketing-
case-studies.blogspot.com/2008/04/got-milk-campaign.html
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