- Brian Morrissey

NEW YORK While the California Milk Processor Board's "Got milk" campaign has been a trailblazer offline, the effort has remained decidedly behind the times online. Unlike its cleverly crafted TV spots, GotMilk.com has remained the epitome of "brochureware" -- a site that serves up static information extolling product benefits.
 
The Milk Board hopes to change its staid online image with an overhauled flashy Web site set to launch today. The venue attempts to combine health information and entertainment in a single destination.
 
"The old site was not only static but pretty boring," said Steve James, executive director of the Milk Board. "We wanted to do all the things that people expect these days in a Web site, which we didn't do with the old site."
 
James declined to say how much the board dedicated to the online effort. Those funds were diverted from the organization's TV budget. "We're spending less on TV because it's the not the medium it once was," he said.

Longtime Milk Board agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco came up with the concept for the new site and worked with U.K. digital production firm Unit9 to build it.

The site is centered around the idea that milk is a "super drink" that provides several different health benefits in a single beverage. The opening page presents an imaginary animated machine to illustrate the energy-producing qualities of milk. Visitors can navigate to a series of interactive games that explain specific health benefits, such as reducing the effects of PMS to strengthening teeth and bones.
 
The game designed to communicate milk's ability to aid sleep, for example, is called "Shut-eye Battle Cry." It challenges players to complete various tasks to help an insomniac owl named Mr. Wide Awake get to sleep. The tasks include closing curtains, getting the dog to stop barking and, naturally, preparing some warm milk. (A related content area pops up with background material on milk's sleep-inducing qualities.)

Completing each game yields rewards, such as the ability to download a PDF to create cutouts of the animated characters.
 
The idea, according to Jessica Shank, a copywriter at Goodby, was to reformat the information available on the original "Got milk" site in a more entertaining package. "We were trying to strike a balance," she said. "It's a lot of the same content but presented in a much more interesting way.
 
Other site features include a "recycling area," where visitors can find artistic ways to use their empty milk cartons, such as fashioning vases out of them. There are also recipes for smoothies. Plus, the site includes a history of the 15-year "Got milk" campaign with a time line and past commercials.

While the Milk Board mostly neglected its Web site over the years, it has seen success in digital channels. Last March, it launched "Get the Glass," a Web game created by Goodby and North Kingdom. The site gained industry plaudits, as well as sizable traffic for a campaign microsite. All told, the board estimates the game got over 1 million visitors.
 
"We wanted the new site to provide the same kind of fun and interaction," James said.
 
GotMilk.com will not replace the Milk Board's annual campaign sites. Earlier this year, it launched WhiteGoldisWhiteGold.com) along with a MySpace brand page.
 
James said GotMilk.com would act as "the mother ship" for campaign sites.