Got Chocolate Milk?

Last week, our class was visited by Kelly Fisher from the got milk? campaign. Their new marketed idea that has already been launched is about chocolate milk and its benefits in terms of post workout rehabilitation and recovery. This was actually the first time that I have seen or heard of any of these ads so it was quite interesting to learn about it in class.

We talked about the planning and research that was behind the campaign and discussed the process of how they took the idea and made it into a creative communication. After talking about this process throughout the semester so far, it was fun and helpful to look at a real-life example and be able to analyze all of the aspects of the campaign with some knowledge of what to look for. There were some aspects of the campaign that were very unique and innovative, but it also had some aspects that required more attention. With competitors such as Gatorade and Muscle Milk, standard chocolate milk has some work to do in order to take over some of the consumers' perceptions about what they use to treat their body after a workout. Gatorade and Muscle Milk are heavily manufactured and scientifically formulated to aid the body during the recovery stage of a workout, but chocolate milk argues that whatever Gatorade and Muscle Milk give your body, chocolate milk comes with it already in stock. Chocolate milk has all of the necessary ingredients to help your body already inside of it and does not need a lab to concoct it.

The best part of the class was going through each of the creative team's ideas and evaluating them based on what was outlined in the brief. With so many competitors, chocolate milk has a very tough task when it comes to making sure this campaign is and remains completely integrated and consistent. If they produce an advertisement in which the chocolate milk could easily be replaced with a Gatorade logo, then they must go back to the drawing boards. Finding that "white space" in the consumers' minds is so difficult to do. After evaluating the creatives on consistency, the message, integration, and aesthetic parameters, we were then asked to choose which one we thought was themost effective communication for chocolate milk.

The "My After" idea was the communication idea that they chose to go with. This highlights the personalization aspect of how each person individually chooses to treat their bodies after their particular workouts. This campaign utilizes both professional athletes and also "regular" people to show that chocolate milk is effective for even the most renowned athletes, but also it is just as effective and beneficial for the "weekend runners" and heavy lifters that are working out just to make themselves feel good. This was a great experience to have in class and it was beneficial to assess a real-life creative process. It has made me think outside the box a little bit when it comes to what I do after workouts. Rather than just reaching for the most popular Gatorade bottle and drinking because some scientists say its good for me, I may turn towards the more natural solution that is chocolate milk. Plus its delicious!