After going public just over a week ago, the California Milk Processor Board – the lovable ragtag crew who brought us those insanely successful “Got Milk?” ads that have been running practically since time immemorial now – has pulled the plug on its not-so-lovable ad campaign touting the calcium in milk as the perfect way to ease the symptoms of PMS.
The ad campaign traded in the age-old stereotype of women getting totes irrational every month when Aunt Irma Comes to Visit. Ads featured harried looking guys clutching cartons of milk, emblazoned with backhanded apologies like “I’m sorry I listened to what you SAID and not what you MEANT” and “I’m sorry for the thing (or things) I did (or didn’t do).” An accompanying website, everythingidoiswrong.org, was billed as “your home for PMS management” and was tailored for guys, with tickers on cocoa futures (oh ho ho ladies need their chocolate!) and charming bar graphs on whose fault an argument is (hint: it’s your fault, bros).
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Apparently the Milk Board is no stranger to these types of ads (the TV commercial below was uploaded in 2008), and the board has asserted that many consumers found the ads “funny and educational.” Still, the sheer extensiveness and snark of this campaign really pushed it over the line for a lot of angry consumers who weren’t laughing.
So the ads have now been pulled, over a full month ahead of schedule. Still, despite the outcry, the California Milk Processor Board isn’t declaring the brief run a defeat, but a success for opening up “a topic that affects women, of course, but also relationships.” The original website has been pulled and redirects to gotdiscussion.org, which features major media outlets discussing the ads and encourages further discussion of this fascinating topic.
