Milk Brands? Who are they? Exactly.

Random thought of the day, well week actually – I want to work on a milk brand.

The most basic of commodities in the UK are already awash with brands: bread, water (for some reason we now like water from volcanoes), toilet roll, even baked beans. Whilst, in agency land, we’re always after an automotive, finance or booze client. But one of the most natural commodities around, milk, goes largely unnoticed.

Think about this for a stat: in the UK we consume 99l of beer per capita per year but 111.2l of liquid milk. That’s around 82l per person per year!

So why isn’t much happening on the branding front? Other than Cravendale it’s hard to name a milk brand (excluding products that use milk like Nesquik), certainly nothing to match the likes of Volvic, Hovis and Heinz. Yet when milk is given a chance it gives the impression of being a great brief to work on:

1. It’s celeb-tastic, from Linford Christie in the ‘Wake up to milk’ ads to George Best and Rolf Harris in the ‘White Stuff - Are you made of it campaign’


2. Wacky ads are actively encouraged, from slurping morris dancers for Cravendale (a personal favourite) to the zany ‘Gotta Lotta Bottle’ ads.


3. It affords some fun digi work such as Makethetea.com settling many an office argument.


4. Creative works globally.

The now legendary ‘Got Milk?’ campaign from the early-90s sums it up for me. Heralded as one of the best ideas still going (with around 90% awareness in the US) it’s used icons from Billy Ray Cyrus to Superman, has gone global (check out Toma Leche? In Mexico), has an addictive, if not strange, website and if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then it wins there too.

Maybe I’m just charmed by the Accrington Stanley scouse moment (which I’ve skilfully sidestepped), but for now “Int Milk Brilliant”?