# Dairy association is using the same type of scare tactics anti-drug groups use?! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 18, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067 "2004-01-18T05:54:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Poetgrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@Poetgrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poetgrrl)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/1 "2004-01-18T05:54:59Z")
I saw a rather disturbing commercial this evening. A mom was telling her son and daughter to drink millk. Both refused, and pointed to the neighbor, saying that he never drank milk and he was fine. They see the neighbor, an elderly gentleman, straining to lift a heavy wheelbarrow. Suddenly the man’s arms rip clean off their sockets :eek: The son and daughter’s faces go very pale and they start _chugging_ down their glasses of milk. :eek: Now, I personally don’t have anything against milk. I’m not crazy about it, but I can handle it fine enough. However, this kind of marketing disturbs me. When do dairy groups have to use scare-tactics like this for something as benign as milk? And in addition, this presents a very harsh image to people/children who might be allergic to milk. Personally, presenting anything in this kind of matter seems to just beg to backfire horribly. I liked the milk commercials they had back in the 80’s- a kid would drink milk and they would grow up looking all hot and sexy. They’re not saying “If you don’t drink milk you’ll grow up ugly/crippled.” I understand the message can be just as deceptive in those 80’s commercials, but at least it wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe I’m being idealistic, but I’d figure you want to win people over by getting them to _want_ something, not to make them paranoid about the consequences of snubbing whatever it is your pitching (a big friction point about some religions, it seems). ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/2 "2004-01-18T06:00:29Z")
Silly me. I thought that commercial was actually funny. Of course no commercial would actually use humor to sell a product. :rolleyes: People take things far too literally. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/3 "2004-01-18T06:13:45Z")
> [@Poetgrrl](#): > > Maybe I’m being idealistic… Maybe you are being idealistic, maybe you are not, but you certainly are being a humorless dipshit. The commericial was _funny_, and was intended to be funny, not educational. I bet you are one of those ‘Cow milk is bad for any human to consume, blah blah blah’ types. And I bet your ‘poetry’ fucking sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Poetgrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@Poetgrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poetgrrl)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/4 "2004-01-18T06:18:25Z")
Read my post, I don’t have _any_ problem with milk, it was just the way the commercial was presented. And what the heck does this have to do with my poetry? ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/5 "2004-01-18T06:22:53Z")
> [@Poetgrrl](#): > > Read my post, I don’t have _any_ problem with milk, it was just the way the commercial was presented. And what the heck does this have to do with my poetry? Not much, but what does milk have to do with religion? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/6 "2004-01-18T06:25:12Z")
I haven’t seen the commercial, but it sounds funny as hell. It’s not a ‘scare-tactic’ ad if nobody could take it seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Poetgrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@Poetgrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poetgrrl)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/7 "2004-01-18T06:26:34Z")
Milk itself has nothing to do with religion. I was just noting a parallel in the way they were advertising milk with the way some groups promote religion. As in “Listen to us or Very Bad Things will happen to you”. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/8 "2004-01-18T06:52:40Z")
::blink:: ::blinkblink:: YOU TOOK THAT COMMERCIAL LITERALLY?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I’m glad I’m already sitting down. It is to laugh. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/9 "2004-01-18T07:22:41Z")
Damn, that sounds funny. I have to start watching more tv. Who puts out this commercial? Is it online? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/10 "2004-01-18T08:04:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Damn, that sounds funny. I have to start watching more tv. Who puts out this commercial? Is it online? It’s part of the “Got Milk?” campaign, and I seem to recall having seen it first at least 6-7 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![ReuvenB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@ReuvenB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReuvenB)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/11 "2004-01-18T09:01:35Z")
One second… Bwahahahahaha! You took that seriously? ---
**Author:** ![Poetgrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@Poetgrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poetgrrl)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/12 "2004-01-18T09:14:32Z")
> [@XWalrus2](#): > > One second… > > Bwahahahahaha! You took that seriously? Wrong. I’m pitting the approach the commercial uses. Maybe you guys find it funny, but I don’t. I think it is stupid. I see a lot of pit threads about anti-drug commercials, and people will happily bash them (like the commercial where the guys who smoked pot ran over the little girl, or the girl who got high and wound up getting pregnant) frankly I find this commercial no different in the way it sends its message (drink milk or your arms will fall off) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/13 "2004-01-18T12:21:14Z")
The milk ad was humor, the anti-drug ads are serious. One is meant to scare, the other to induce chuckles. Can you really not see the difference? That you did not find it funny doesn’t put them on the same level. ---
**Author:** ![Verick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ea666f/32.png) [@Verick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Verick)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/14 "2004-01-18T12:29:46Z")
> [@Poetgrrl](#): > > Wrong. I’m pitting the approach the commercial uses. Maybe you guys find it funny, but I don’t. I think it is stupid. > > I see a lot of pit threads about anti-drug commercials, and people will happily bash them (like the commercial where the guys who smoked pot ran over the little girl, or the girl who got high and wound up getting pregnant) frankly I find this commercial no different in the way it sends its message (drink milk or your arms will fall off) That would be a perfectly viable argument, if it were at all possible for one’s arms to fall off due to a lack of milk consumption. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/15 "2004-01-18T12:42:13Z")
> [@Poetgrrl](#): > > Wrong. I’m pitting the approach the commercial uses. Maybe you guys find it funny, but I don’t. I think it is stupid … I find this commercial no different in the way it sends its message (drink milk or your arms will fall off) Erm, the key difference is that it’s not meant to be taken **seriously**. Hell, I’m allergic to milk (and should apparently be offended) but I think it sounds as funny as fuck. Almost as good as the Mr. Kipling adverts\* that recently got withdrawn here in the UK… - For those unaware of Mr. Kipling, it’s a cake brand whose catchphrase down the years has been “exceedingly good cakes”. The ad in question showed a parish nativity play in which an adult woman is noisily giving (apparently genuine) birth on stage, to the horror of the audience. Cut to the vicar and a woman, who asks: “Has Mr. Kipling ever directed a play before?”, to which the vicar replies: “No, but he does make _exceedingly_ good cakes…” (takes a bite of mince pie) ---
**Author:** ![holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/holmes)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/16 "2004-01-18T12:46:15Z")
> [@Poetgrrl](#): > > Wrong. I’m pitting the approach the commercial uses. Maybe you guys find it funny, but I don’t. I think it is stupid. > > I see a lot of pit threads about anti-drug commercials, and people will happily bash them (like the commercial where the guys who smoked pot ran over the little girl, or the girl who got high and wound up getting pregnant) frankly I find this commercial no different in the way it sends its message (drink milk or your arms will fall off) Poetgrrl, we all have our own level of funny and dark humour doesn’t appeal to everyone…but it was damn funny. The old guy looks at his arms and goes…“that can’t be good…” and you left out the mother EMPTYING the milk carton! Damn good commerical and a great contrast to the usual sugar and spice “Drink Milk” of my youth. But that’s me. ---
**Author:** ![holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/holmes)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/17 "2004-01-18T12:48:03Z")
> [@holmes](#): > > Poetgrrl, we all have our own level of funny and dark humour doesn’t appeal to everyone…but it was damn funny. > > The old guy looks at his arms and goes…“that can’t be good…” and you left out the mother EMPTYING the milk carton! > > Damn good commerical and a great contrast to the usual sugar and spice “Drink Milk” of my youth. > > But that’s me. By emptying I mean, she downs it and the camera cuts to her and the kids glupping the milk, while looking out the window and the now armless old guy… ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/18 "2004-01-18T13:22:59Z")
> [@Poetgrrl](#): > > Wrong. I’m pitting the approach the commercial uses. Maybe you guys find it funny, but I don’t. I think it is stupid. > > I see a lot of pit threads about anti-drug commercials, and people will happily bash them (like the commercial where the guys who smoked pot ran over the little girl, or the girl who got high and wound up getting pregnant) frankly I find this commercial no different in the way it sends its message (drink milk or your arms will fall off) Now those commercials weren’t meant to be funny. But if you have a fucked-up sense of humor, the one with the girl getting run over at the drive-through _is_ kinda funny, in a macabre sort of way. Take anything you see on TV about as seriously as you would a Chick Tract, and the humor will become apparent. ---
**Author:** ![StanDup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@StanDup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StanDup)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/19 "2004-01-18T18:49:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Poetgrrl > Wrong. I’m pitting the approach the commercial uses. Maybe you guys find it funny, but I don’t. I think it is stupid. Maybe you need to drink more milk. ---
**Author:** ![Poetgrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@Poetgrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poetgrrl)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067/20 "2004-01-18T19:10:16Z")
Ok, ok, I relent, the commercial is pretty funny…the first time I saw it I was in a snarky mood, but seeing it a second time this morning made me think about other funny milk commercials, such as- -2 rednecks are making a cola billboard, and when distracted by a cow disguised as a woman driving a car, another cow switches the picture of what they are supposed to put on the billboard. -A group of old men are antagonizing a group of mean looking bikers, the bikers get up for a fight, the old men drink their milk then beat up the bikers (mostly by headbutting them). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dairy-association-is-using-the-same-type-of-scare-tactics-anti-drug-groups-use/225067.md?page=2)