GBS Whets Thirst For California Milk By Daniel S. Levin

SAN FRANCISCO - Like that old love song says, you just don't know what you've got until you lose it. That's what Goodby, Berlin & Silverstein here found out

In one spot a camera pans around a room filled with Aaron Burr memorabilia. The nerd who lives there is watching a game show, the kind that calls viewers with questions. Just as the show host asks ‘Who killed Alexander Hamilton?’ the kid’s phone rings. But he’s just stuffed his face with a peanut butter sandwich, and every time he tries to answer the question, it comes out garbled. He reaches for a glass of milk to wash the sandwich down, but the container is empty. No milk, no answer, no prize. Then a simple, silent tagline comes up, ‘Got Milk?’
‘We never talk about health benefits. The reason is 92% of people currently feel milk is a good, healthy product,’ said Jeff Manning, executive director of the CMPB. Instead, the spots tells a comic story of grabbing for a container of milk, only to learn it’s empty. The situation is set with foods like cookies and cereal because, Manning said, milk consumption is driven by the food eaten with it.
In another spot filmed home-movie-style, one little kid sells cookies, another brownies, and a third, who’s figured out all those people eating cookies will need a glass of milk, rakes in the biggest business. Manning said the approach grew out of a series of focus groups in which people were asked to spend a week without milk and discuss what it was like.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)