SAN CLEMENTE, CA – In 1993, the GOT MILK? campaign made its debut by
introducing consumers to the concept of milk deprivation: The frustration
involved when folks run out of the “wonder tonic.” Now, the same advertiser who
produced iconic commercials such as “Aaron Burr” is taking a 180 degree approach
this year with a new advertising campaign called ‘Mootopia.’ It is a world where
milk flows profusely through streams and waterfalls and its citizens, the
Mootopians, are exceptionally perfect with strong muscles, great teeth and
shiny, healthy hair — all because of milk. But no world, no matter how perfect,
is problem-free and therein lies the humor behind this new GOT MILK? campaign by
the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB).
“Many people wish for perfection, and we’re leveraging the humor and futility of
that desire to inform the whole campaign,” says Steve James, executive director
of the CMPB. “Even though the new campaign will have the trademark ‘got milk?’
sense of humor, it will also take the health benefits of milk to a whole new
level. The aspirational quality of Mootopia will be powerful: strong muscles,
healthy teeth and hair can all be attained by drinking milk.”
Produced by longtime advertising partners San Francisco-based Goodby,
Silverstein & Partners and directed by the man who originally conceived the
iconic tagline GOT MILK?, Jeff Goodby, ‘Mootopia’ consists of three 30-second
spots titled “Gorgeous Hair,” “Equal Strength,” and “Dentist,” with “Gorgeous
Hair” debuting on TV today.
“Gorgeous Hair” opens on a world of lush, green landscape with streams of milk
flowing endlessly. Audiences then find two beautiful women with long, gorgeous,
silky hair drinking milk from a long straw. As they bask in the sun, the glare
from each other’s shiny hair blinds them. Soon thereafter, we hear a breathy
voice-over saying, “Shiny, healthy hair. It happens…in Mootopia.” The spot
ends with the ubiquitous tagline, “got milk?”
“You can’t help but laugh when you see the spot,” says Goodby, who also directed
memorable GOT MILK? spots such as “Heaven” and “Milk to the Rescue.” “My hope is
that along with the humor, viewers can see that the ads in the campaign show how
beauty can be achieved from the inside out with milk.”
In “Equal Strength,” audiences find two Mootopian men engaged in a tense arm
wrestling match that has lasted for hours. Finally, one asks the other, “Maybe
we should settle this with a battle of wits.” After challenging each other to
take a stab, they take a long pause and resume the arm wrestling. Viewers then
hear the voiceover: “Strong muscles. There’s no shortage of those…in Mootopia…got
milk?”
Similarly, in “Dentist,” viewers find a dentist in the middle of the lush world
of Mootopia. No matter how many times he tries to entice Mootopians into his
chair with offers for free cleanings, he just can’t get any of the beautiful
citizens and their perfect smiles to commit to an appointment. Life for a
dentist in Mootopia is filled with endless boredom. Viewers then hear the
voiceover: “Healthy teeth. A fact of life in Mootopia…got milk?”
In addition to the television spots, the CMPB is also launching a brand new Web
site starting today called visitmootopia.com to support the campaign. When
online users log on, they will be introduced to the world of Mootopia where Web
surfers can view the TV spots as well as play various games to highlight milk
benefits for strong muscles, teeth and hair. The site will be periodically
updated with fun tidbits about Mootopia and visitors will also have an
opportunity to receive online offers.
Launching on April 5 is a Facebook game where users will be able to experience
the world of Mootopia first hand, while learning about the health benefits of
milk. Web surfers can adopt their own Mootopian avatars by answering personality
questions. Each avatar starts out as a toddler and grows up to become an adult,
based on how engaged the user is to playing the game and of course, drinking
milk.
“Engagement is key to the success of this campaign,” says James. “We not only
want viewers to see the ads. We want them to discover and experience Mootopia
for themselves through these interactive games and websites. And if we can get
their attention, we will have achieved our goal of making milk and its benefits
unique and engaging for people of all ages.”
For more information on the Mootopia campaign, go to
www.visitmootopia.com.
About the CMPB
The California Milk Processor Board was established in 1993 to make milk more
competitive and increase milk consumption in California. Awareness of GOT MILK?
is over 90% nationally and it is considered one of the most important and
successful campaigns in history. GOT MILK? is a federally registered trademark
that has been licensed by the national dairy boards since 1995. The CMPB’s
Spanish-language campaign began in 1994 using the tagline “Familia, Amor y Leche”
(Family, Love and Milk). The TOMA LECHE (Drink Milk) campaign replaced it in
2006, following a growing trend in Hispanic food advertising that uses wit and
humor to reach audiences. GOT MILK? gifts and recipes can be viewed at
www.gotmilk.com and www.tomaleche.com. The CMPB is funded by all California milk
processors and administered by the California Department of Food and
Agriculture.