The Strategic Milk Alliance, a new joint venture created by proud dairy farmers across Canada, is pouring out a new communications campaign, titled ‘Milk Every Moment” that reconnects teens and adults to drinking milk. The evocative and heart-warming creative is an ode to childhood that highlights some of the fun yet nonsensical activities people seem to have outgrown, while revealing milk as a timeless pleasure that can be enjoyed at any age.
“Not everything we did when we were kids made sense, but one thing that did make sense was pairing milk with foods such as cookies and grilled cheese sandwiches,” says Dean Lee, executive creative director, DDB Canada. “This campaign is designed to remind people that drinking milk with their favourite foods was great during their childhood and it still tastes just as good now.”
Developed by the integrated groups of DDB Canada’s Vancouver office, the comprehensive national campaign kicks off with a 60-second cinema spot, “Fun” that portrays all the amusing and occasionally illogical activities children would do purely for enjoyment’s sake. The cinema spot depicts familiar moments from childhood when cardboard boxes became hideouts and frosted posts tempted tongues, all by way of reminding viewers of the time when ‘fun’ governed their decision-making. From the ad’s nostalgic illustration of a young girl wearing rubber gloves for shoes to young boys throwing wet paper balls to the ceiling, the ad’s evocative voice-over helps narrate each scene.
All of the young actors are filmed in scenes to portray eras of the 70s, 80s and 90s, which targets and prompts people of all ages to recall their own history of playful antics. Ending the spot is a universal yet calming reassurance: “While not everything we did when we were kids made sense, drinking milk did, and still does.”
“People, as they move into adulthood, are likely to replace milk with other beverages,” says Katherine Loughlin, Manager, Market Development with Alberta Milk. “With the goal of increasing adult and teen milk consumption across Canada, the new campaign reminds people how great milk pairs with certain foods – something they would have known as kids and may have forgotten over the years.”
Three 30-second TV spots, “Fun,” “Heart” and “Curiosity” help to underpin the message, reinforcing the idea that milk used to and can still be the perfect sidekick. Each spot ends with a call to visit www.MilkEveryMoment.ca, where people are encouraged to share content such as favourite milk pairings, recipes, photos and videos.
The website further ignites users’ passion and excitement for milk through contests and community engagement. The first social contest to launch on June 17 will invite Canadians to post and share content of themselves or their children engaging in memorable childhood moments, such as the ones portrayed in the broadcast spots. The content can be shared directly on the website or via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest. Through a series of public voting and editorial considerations, the six-week contest will determine four winners in total: three of them will take home a Polaroid digital camera and one grand prize winner will receive a DSLR digital camera.
Digital, social, print, outdoor, public relations, experiential and shopper marketing round out this integrated campaign by driving traffic to MilkEveryMoment.ca. Each program element creates conversation and interest surrounding milk. This campaign is the first for the Strategic Milk Alliance since forming and signing DDB Canada as its agency of record in July 2012.
Milk Every Moment was launched earlier this week and will run throughout the year with OMD Canada responsible for the media plan.