Who: Alberta Milk, with Venturepark for strategy, creative and media.
What: “Smash Milk,” a new creative campaign for the province’s dairy producers, informing young consumers that dairy is a lot more than a glass of milk.
When & Where: The campaign is in market now, running for the next six months on social platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube) as well as streaming audio, and digital out of home.
Why: The campaign goal is simple: Get more young people 18 to 29 buying dairy again. “Plant-based beverages are certainly cutting into dairy’s market share,” said Karlee Conway, Alberta Milk’s marketing and communications manager. “So we needed to really think outside of the box and come up with a campaign that would help put dairy back in the hearts and minds of these younger demographics.”
Rather than making an earnest case about the benefits of drinking milk, the campaign strategy was to present some of the many ways that dairy can be consumed, with creative using a playful, upbeat tone.
How: The “Smash Milk” hero ad has the look and feel of a hip-hop video, complete with a pulsing dance track and energetic choreography. It opens on a traditional glass of milk, which is smashed by a wrecking ball. In the rest of the spot, dairy appears as cheese on nachos, while the dancers enjoy whipped cream and ice cream.
“There are a lot of references that the younger Gen Z audience would get, like the wrecking ball that’s a cheese ball,” said Conway. The spot is meant to be “fun” and “bright” in order to stand out for young consumers as they scroll through their streaming content, without feeling like “in your face marketing,” said Conway.
What does “Smash Milk” mean? “It’s really about smashing traditional connotations people have with dairy,” said Conway. “You know, these old school commercials where your mom tells you that you have to drink this glass of milk… When we are saying smash those connotations, we want to empower this demographic to really choose their future, and we’re hoping dairy is part of that.”
And we quote: “Our goal for this launch was to speak directly to younger Albertans, especially women, who are frankly consuming less dairy,” said Dan Strasser, executive creative director of Venturepark. “We want to engage them on their terms, and remind them that dairy needn’t be traditional at all—it deserves a place in their shopping carts because of its amazing versatility.”
