In a single, poorly-photoshopped post to Xitter, the U.S. Department of Agriculture appears to have resurrected one of the most infamous and misleading campaigns in American marketing history: “Got Milk?” — a dairy-industry ad campaign that was effectively retired over a decade ago.
Originally launched in 1993 and funded through industry checkoff programs — assessments on commodity producers that collectively underwrote generic advertising like “Got Milk?” and “Pork — The Other White Meat” — the campaign was never a USDA public-health initiative but a marketing program serving corporate interests. Checkoff programs themselves have been controversial precisely because they obligate farmers and producers to fund promotional messaging with broad public visibility.
That said, the cultural afterlife of “Got Milk?” was outsized. Its commercials — including one of its earliest spots directed by Michael Bay — plastered celebrities and athletes with iconic milk mustaches and staked exaggerated h…
