But no such luck.
Apparently Salma Hayeck has gotten on board, much to the delight of the dairy folks who are just hoping and praying that they can win the Hispanic vote, who traditionally aren’t big milk drinkers. Tragic, since a large portion of Hispanics are lactose intolerant (but lets try and push milk on them anyway, cause there is money to be made).
Two Languages, But a Single Focus on Milk at Meals, a NYTimes article, details how American’s just aren’t getting enough milk (we only drank on average 20.8 gallons in 2010, compared to 21.3 gallons in 2011). In an effort to ensure we’re getting our fill (or rather, in an effort to ensure the profits of the dairy industry), they’ve revamped their advertising and are spending $60 million (2/3 of their annual marketing budget) to let us know that “It’s not breakfast without milk.”
To quote Ms. Godfrey, a representative of the Milk Processor Education Program (why can’t some vegetable farmers get together and create a Vegetable Education Program? just a thought): “There’s lots of of people who think breakfast is important, but lots of people who skip breakfast or don’t eat it regularly.” To which I respond to Ms. Godfrey: So what? breakfast is not a holy meal, and it’s not the breakfast skipping that is damaging people’s health and waistlines, it’s the foods that they are eating the other times of day.
The article goes further to say that the focus on breakfast in the campaign, “will present opportunities for other breakfast foods like cereal, coffee, fruit and breakfast bars to be highlighted in the advertising messages [italics added].” Advertising! That’s the key word. They want to sell us something. Which is fine (I’m all for capitalism baby), but am I the only one that thinks the Milk Processor Education Program should be renamed the Milk Processor Advertising program? Also, isn’t it nice of them to throw in bone for the cereal, coffee, and breakfast bar companies (you bet General Mills, Kellogg’s, and others are salivating with dollar signs in their eyes right about now)? Aww, such nice folks. What America needs is more coffee, breakfast bars, and cereal, don’t you think?
The funniest part of the article is this line. In describing the humorous commercial Salma Hayeck plays a starring role (in which she runs out of milk in the middle of the night and “makes a frantic midnight run to find some, eventually trying to stop a milk truck in the early morning hours, her hair standing on edge”), Mr. DiNoto, a representative for the campaign’s main advertising agency Deutsch, states, “This is a chance for us to talk about a serious issue and a serious occasion and diffuse that with some humor and some fun.”
Serious situation? Serious occasion? Would that be the running out of milk in the middle of the night? I think the serious situation happens to be the fact that the American people are continually fed lies with slick advertising and celebrities so industry can make a profit. Hopefully we are smart enough to rise above it and see it for what it really is (a business wanting to make money rather than some kind hearted dairy farmers concerned about our bone health).
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