Sun, Nov 22 2009
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Milk’s history in America has been one of downs and ups Ad campaign changed perception By JENNIFER MOONSONGGlasgow Daily Times The bad rap for milk began in 1913, when the New York Times reported that the deadly typhoid epidemic was largely caused by contaminated milk.
By 1917, a mandatory pasteurization act was formed and the law helped to get milk back on its feet until the 1930s when the milk wars began. The Sioux City Milk War was the most infamous of the milk wars because milk producers didn’t only strike in order to raise the price of milk, but they also set up roadblocks that halted the delivery of milk to the Sioux City plant. After the death of the glass milk bottle in the 1960s the square paperboard carton was invented and revolutionized milk advertising and delivery. “It was a light bulb moment,”said Dean Wheeldon, a historian who focuses on the 20th century. “It lowered the cost because cardboard cartons were not as expensive to make as the bottles had been.” It also changed the way milk was marketed. “All of a sudden there was more than a clear bottle to work with,” Wheeldon said. “There was a carton with four sides that could be utilized to grab the customer’s attention and make milk more desirable.” The innovative change greatly affected the dairy world and by the early 1970s, milk could be purchased in cartons or in plastic jugs. In more recent times, milk’s popularity soared again after the launch of the “Got Milk?” slogan in 1995. The simple slogan that has been used, reused, and reinvented has become a widely known phrase in modern American pop culture. Celebrities with milk mustaches, T-Shirts, even a “Got Milk?” Barbie doll have furthered the campaign to keep milk a top seller. The popularity in recent years doesn’t mean that everyone is on the milk bandwagon. For as much positive publicity as the drink has had, there has been an equal amount of controversy. Several activist groups have launched Web sites questioning milk’s greatness and a lawsuit was filed against the California Milk Board after the start of the Happy Cows campaign. Whatever one’s feelings about milk, no one can deny that the dairy industry has kept the heartland afloat and that milk packaging and advertising has impacted American culture from the cow all the way down to the milk bottle. 
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