Got PMS? New ads for the California Milk Processor Board depict men holding boxes of milk and headlines like “I’m sorry I listened to what you said and not what you meant” (see below). They’re meant to suggest that men can help reduce “their” PMS suffering by giving their partners milk to reduce PMS symptoms.
(There’s a website too.)
Here’s the chatter on this new tactic from Goodby Silverstein & Partners.
Piper Weiss @ Shine (Yahoo)
“In the annals of I-can’t-believe-people-thought-that-was-okay, this milk campaign joins the ranks of this 1950’s coffee ad where a woman is spanked for buying her husband the wrong brand.”
Kate Torgovnick @ The Frisky
“All I can say to this is … UGH… I just don’t like this approach, which plays into the tired old stereotypes that women are balls and chains in relationships and also total shrews for a week out of every month.”
Nancy Duarte, CEO of Duarte, on Twitter
“Lovin’ the milk industry PMS campaign, fun to laugh at self. Just tried the puppy-dog-eyes-er everythingidoiswrong.org”
Rebecca Cullers @ AdWeek
“But you know that poor, unknowingly sexist guy out there will inevitably offer milk to his significant other as a nice way to say, ‘I think your concerns are invalid and you’re just bitching at me because your baby maker is about to blow.'”
Dale Buss @ Brand Channel
“Because it involves the significant others of PMS sufferers, this new campaign skips the teen demographic altogether and pursues adult Americans. And for once, it’s not just mom who’s the target of the ‘buy milk!’ messaging.”
Mary Elizabeth Williams @ Salon
“Don’t you just love when men tell you how to laugh at yourselves and your wild mood swings, ladies? A healthy, balanced diet is a thing of beauty. But with its ugly new campaign, the milk board just might find a whole lot of rampaging female consumers suddenly feeling mighty lactose intolerant.”
Irin Carmon @ Jezebel
“Recent history suggests that there’s a measure of controversy that generates enough heat to justify the media budget — all press is good press, etc. — as long as it doesn’t reach the indeterminate point where it becomes a liability for the company and they back off. It’s a tired trick, and a cynical one.”
