I’m sure none of us have cried over spilled milk recently but there has been a story circulating in the news recently concerning a case about dropped milk: The “Got Milk?” ad campaign which has mustachioed celebrities and milk enthusiasts for years is being dismantled. The campaign to get people drinking milk and inform them about milk’s health benefits will continue but under a different moniker. This isn’t exactly a rare occurrence, companies change ad schemes all the time and it is generally a pre-planned and well researched transition, but what can we learn from the jettisoning of the “Got Milk?” campaign?

Firstly we can see how MilkPEP (Milk Processor Education Program, the folks behind the ad) isn’t afraid to make some changes to their flagship campaign. We’ll always remember people with cheery mugs and milk mustaches but MilkPEP’s decision to change their approach signals that they’re not going to sit idly by while the market outpaces them. Secondly MilkPEP shows that it has done some homework. A bit of gray-matter combined with see what has for so long worked for their brand and awareness adds up to a campaign that looks to pack a punch. Whereas they were aiming at getting people to see and believe that milk is good for them the new aim seems to be to inform people roughly how good milk is for them. The core of the message has remained positive of milk but this slight adjustment may help to encourage health-conscious consumers to get milky.

There will be more to learn as we watch how this Milk story unfolds but one more tidbit that I see in-between the lines is the mobility of MilkPEP’s advertisement. “Got Milk?” may have raised awareness but with their new outlook displaying the benefits of milk they can target certain groups with a little more poignancy (Think: sell the calcium and bone-building benefits of milk to the elderly, market the protein-rich nature of it to athletes, and the vitamins and minerals to children). It would also, theoretically, pave the way to cooperate with other industry leaders to promote not only milk but also other dairy and agricultural products.

That is the skinny on Dropped Milk. Do you have any insights into what is going on? Any thoughts or opinions? Let us know, we’d love to hear from y’all!