Got Played?

Written By Gabriella Samaniego

Milk. It is essential for a healthy diet and strong bones. Right? I am sure that if you grew up going to public school you learned that milk was a staple for healthy bones and maybe you drank a carton or two during lunch. Milk is indeed a good source of calcium. However, there are arguably easier ways to incorporate calcium into our diets. According to Dr. Alissa Hamilton, author of “Got Milked?,” kale, bok choy, broccoli, or even two tablespoons of dried ground basil have the same or even more calcium found in a glass of milk. This leads to an interesting question: how did milk become such a popular standard for everyday diets?

Much of this push for milk is rooted in the efforts of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In the 90s, after a dip in milk consumption, the USDA started to create and fund check-off programs in the dairy industry. Check-off programs are when farmers pay a small tax on agricultural products and the collection of funds is used on marketing for those agricultural products. Dairy check-off programs were created after World War II during a time of overproduction of dairy. These programs required farmers to contribute a percentage to the program. The Non-Profit organization, New Roots Institute, states “In 2016, the Department of Agriculture contributed at least $526 million toward public marketing campaigns for dairy.” These initiatives birthed one of the most widely known marketing campaigns, “Got Milk?”

We saw the start of the “Got Milk?” campaign with iconic television commercials produced by the California Milk Processor Board. The commercials had a way of being unforgettable due to their silly nature and overall randomness. The slogan “Got Milk?” was first used in the 1993 commercial “Aaron Burr.” In this commercial, viewers see a history buff who knows a lot about Alexander Hamilton. He owes this to the fact that his entire house is decorated with memorabilia of Hamilton’s life. The history buff is eating a peanut butter sandwich when a radio host announces the random phone call question, “Who shot Alexander Hamilton in that famous duel?” Suddenly the history buff’s phone rings to answer the $10,000 question but the radio host cannot understand him because of the peanut butter in his mouth. When he tries washing it down with some milk, he realizes he is all out. Then we see the iconic slogan “Got Milk?” on the screen. This advertisement style was unique in the fact that the audience did not know what was being advertised until the very end of the commercial. It keeps the audience engaged by keeping them guessing. Arguably, its success can be tied back to the vastly different approach it took from other government-sponsored ads. It was not long until “Got Milk?” was everywhere and partnering with brands like Oreo, Girl Scouts, Sesame Street and even Barbie.

At a time of rising celebrity and pop culture fascination, the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) utilized celebrities’ stardom and influence in their print ads illustrating the most popular icons wearing milk mustaches. We saw music stars from The Backstreet Boys to sitcom icons Phoebe and Rachel from “Friends” to star athletes like Dennis Rodman, and many more. After teaming up with the California Milk Processor Board, these print ads started to include the slogan “Got Milk?” expanding the campaign even more.

The “Got Milk?” campaign is one of the most widely known marketing campaigns still to this day, with parodies of it being used even today. It created a generation that believed milk was a key to healthy living. Yet arguably the campaign was more effective in being memorable than it was in getting people to drink milk. According to data collected by CoBank, we have seen a steady decline in milk consumption over the past three decades. This is believed to be due to the rise of milk alternatives, concerns about animal cruelty, and overall changes in diet. Even with the marketing push for milk consumption, the overall change in American diets and ideology has made milk less prevalent. Especially due to the fact that it is more uncommon to tolerate lactose than to be lactose intolerant, with more than 60% of Americans being lactose intolerant.

Despite the rise in the anti-dairy movement and the concerns about dairy’s effect on overall health, the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for 2020 – 2025 still recommend three daily servings of dairy. However, it appears there is a conflict of interest when the USDA is responsible for determining dietary guidelines, while simultaneously having a stake in the success of the dairy industry. In her interview with Vox, when asked “Why are we so gullible about unfounded health claims?”, Dr. Alissa Hamilton answered, “It’s not all that surprising because that’s all we’ve heard. We’ve only heard from the dairy industry and government agencies that are built to support agricultural commodities like dairy … we accept health messages from the dairy industry. But they’re a food business like any other, like Coca-Cola. In general, we don’t think Coke is out to better the world.”

Leading us to wonder, Got Played?

Gabriella Samaniego
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