Standing Up Against Milk Shaming with MilkPEP and GALE

The Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) is a board funded by the USA’s Milk companies to increase milk consumption through creative marketing - and one of their most recent challenges has been the growing phenomenon of ‘milk shaming’. 

Real milk drinkers are being made to feel embarrassed and ashamed for enjoying an ice-cold glass of dairy, so MilkPEP teamed up with creative agency GALE, a long-time partner of the board, and celebrities Queen Latifah, Cardi B and Kelis to give them some support. As well as a comedic PSA, the campaign includes an online resource hub at Ok2Milk.org, a hotline (1-888-OK2-Milk) and an e-commerce platform for OK2Milk merchandise.

To go behind the scenes on this funny anti-shaming campaign, LBB’s Ben Conway spoke with GALE’s executive creative director, Geoff Edwards.

LBB> Where did the ‘milk shaming’ insight come from? What was the creative process like of unearthing and inventing these scenarios?

Geoff> After our ‘Wood Milk’ campaign featuring Aubrey Plaza launched earlier in 2023, we received a lot of shame from milk alternatives brands. They even used our iconic milk moustache and their celebrity kids to mimic our famous campaign. We wanted to set the record straight.

Milk shaming is a behaviour that exists. It comes from people who drink milk alternatives and feel it’s environmentally irresponsible to drink milk. Others feel it’s unnatural for mammals to drink other mammals' milk. Everyone is entitled to their opinion as long as it’s not done through bullying. As a brand that promotes dairy we felt this issue is worthy of a public service announcement. Because we believe there’s no shame in drinking whatever you want. We just happen to love milk.

The scenarios we used for our Milk PSA featuring Queen Latifah came from data, personal experiences and targeted research.

LBB> Why was Queen Latifah the ideal spokesperson? When did she join the campaign?

Geoff> For starters, she’s Queen Latifah! Latifah is a milk drinker first and foremost and she has an authentic voice and a ‘tell it like it is’ personality that made her the perfect choice to be the face of this campaign. For this campaign, our target was pretty much everyone. We aimed to create cultural conversation designed to resonate across audiences - and she is a rare example of someone who does this - she is universally beloved. She also has a great range of performance from dramatic to comedic which was needed for this idea to land. It was a perfect match.

The entire campaign was conceptualised and executed upon within weeks - we wanted a bold personality and we knew Queen Latifah would be perfect. Luckily, she was into the idea!

LBB> The film feeds into a wider ‘OK2MILK’ campaign - including its own website, a helpline and merch. What were some of your favourite elements and why? Who helped design the site and merch?

Geoff> There are several elements of our ‘OK2MILK’ campaign that I like. My favourite is the Milk Shaming Sanctuary support group on Facebook because it allows the community of moms on Facebook to have a safe space to share their personal stories. Our partnership with STOMP Out Bullying is the anchor of the campaign allowing us to connect to the larger communities impacted by bullying. This was a perfect alignment to  an organisation that works to reduce and prevent bullying, cyberbullying and other forms of digital abuse. Our partnership gives them visibility on our site along with a $10,000 donation from MilkPEP.

LBB> What was it like working with SNL’s Hannah Levy and Neil Casey - what did they add to the project?

Geoff> The way we work with creators at GALE is unique. We have a network of creators that partner with us on various initiatives. This campaign called for ‘real’ humour. We endeavour to make work that is ‘entertainment funny’, not ‘advertising funny’. So when our team wrote this campaign, we decided that if we wanted it to feel like an SNL skit we should partner with creators that do SNL skits. That was Hannah Levy and the team at TOOL and Neil Casey who wrote for SNL for years. They were the perfect choice to help build on the scripts and skits that Brian Friedrich, Andre DeCastro and our social team lead Adaobi Ugoagu and the rest of our creative, media and PR team came up with. The collaboration worked so well with ‘Wood Milk’ that we ‘brought the band back together’ so to speak.

LBB> There’s a supporting digital campaign starring Cardi B and Kelis - what went into this aspect, and how did they add their own personalities and twist to the creative?

Geoff> This campaign is very much grounded in creating a cultural conversation, and much of today’s dialogue happens on social media. So we tapped authentic Milk drinkers like Cardi B, Kelis, Paige Desorbo and Christine Quinn, all of whom have significant and engaged communities, to not only shine a light on real-life milk shaming instances but also to share their love of milk proudly. We also chose not to prescribe what our influencers wanted to share. Because they know their audience better than anyone and can tell stories that resonate with them. This led our head of PR, social team and story team to craft an open brief for both of them and encouraged them to make their ‘own PSA’ that they could post on their platforms. It was a collaborative process with their teams and GALE that led to over 559 million total impressions by way of organic, paid and earned media.

LBB> What was the hardest challenge you faced on this campaign - and how did you overcome it?

Geoff> I would say tone. Our brief was ‘unhinged humour’. We wanted to make sure we had the proper balance of comedic storytelling and message. This dictated every choice that was made from script to choice of director, to the Influencers we collaborated with to the way this campaign was brought to life. The other challenge was how to not shame the groups that are shaming milk. That would be a grave mistake. Our campaign message was targeted to a community of loyalists for them to feel good about themselves and their nutritional choices. The tone we chose to deliver that message was unhinged humour and it proved to be the right decision in the end.

LBB> What are some of your favourite moments from the PSA film and why?

Geoff> Baseball Moms! There’s no pressure like that of a Mom who has to bring snacks to her child’s game. My son plays baseball so you can probably guess what inspired that scene. That said, Hannah added a wrinkle to it with the parking lot that made the insight a belly laugh! The dating scene is also a lot of fun. The idea that he would be shamed by the crew filming the PSA was another Hannah moment. Lastly, the testimonials and additional content on the website are a must-watch! 

LBB> How does this campaign feed into Milk PEP’s wider marketing strategy right now? What will 2024 bring?

Geoff> The strategy for Milk is reconsideration. We want our target audience to see milk as a performance beverage and not just a complement for cookies. So the answer to the tagline’s question ‘got milk?’ today is yes, and here’s why. 

2024 will bring more ways for the brand to demonstrate occasions when you need milk for performance. Be it running like our ‘26.2 Milk Marathon’ campaign. Or in gaming ‘Performance Drink of Gamers’ and other franchises that help build on our brand strategy in new and unexpected ways.