We Finally Know Why The 'Got Milk?' Slogan Went Away

Imagine an ad campaign maintaining its popularity streak for two solid decades. That was the case with "Got Milk?," which was so loved, according to CBS News, that more than 300 major celebrities were willing to mug for it, doing nothing special other than staring at the camera and wearing an ice-cream-and-milk-mash mustache. 

Notably, the product at the heart of the campaign — cow's milk — was initially labeled by its own ad agency as "boring." Jeff Goodby, co-chairman of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the agency responsible for launching the campaign in 1993, told Time, "We did a focus group where a woman said, 'The only time I notice milk is when I run out of it.'"

That sentiment directed the agency's branding of milk as every kitchen's simple, but necessary, staple. Early ads delivered that message, with the first commercial featuring a man losing out on his big chance to win a call-in radio trivia contest because he dramatically couldn't drink milk to wash down a big bite of peanut butter sandwich he'd just shoved into his mouth. His milk glass was empty; his milk carton was dry. 

The "Got Milk?" campaign spent two decades imploring consumers to never find themselves without milk. However, despite its long run and the unprecedented visibility that has etched "Got Milk?" into pop culture lore, the campaign didn't reverse the nosedive in milk sales. By 2014, "Got Milk?" ads were kaput — until recently when milk moguls took a chance that social media influencers might revitalize the campaign.

After the "Got Milk?" campaign, the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) — a conglomerate of milk companies dedicated to driving milk sales — launched its successor, called the "Milk Life" campaign. The idea was to feature everyday people rediscovering the nutritional value of milk, especially for breakfast. 

Then, during the pandemic, when just about everyone was game for looking at things in a new way, the American Dairy Association announced that "Got Milk?" was back. This time, MilkPEP ditched milk mustaches and focused instead on leveraging TikTokers and YouTubers who would target a Gen Z audience. Their first #gotmilkchallenge video was a post by six-time Olympic Gold Medalist Katie Ledecky. Setting the vibe on how to show your "something amazing" without spilling milk, she swam across a pool with a glass of milk on her head. 

Possibly one of the best swims of my career! (~open for debate~)
What can you do without spilling a drop?! Check out the #gotmilkchallenge on TikTok. #gotmilk #ad pic.twitter.com/F05UzvaqCo

— Katie Ledecky (@katieledecky) August 3, 2020

The audience loved it. Ledecky's #gotmilkchallenge video also caught the interest of media outlets, from ESPN to USA Today. Consumers joined in with simpler, but still fun, tactics; so, by the end of the first week, #gotmilkchallenge video metrics had reached more than 2 billion views.

Milk had already made something of a comeback during the pandemic. Sales increased for the first time in years within a few months of the COVID-19 shutdown, with a meaningful uptick of 11.7% by July 2020. According to Dairy Foods, today's milk sales continue to struggle for consistent growth, but 2022 did see a solid 7% boost in revenue.