The California Milk Processor Board launched the “Got Milk?” campaign in 1993.
The campaign was created by advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners, with the first television commercial directed by Michael Bay. Its ads often placed people in situations where milk was urgently needed, such as eating dry foods or trying to answer a radio contest question after drinking peanut butter.
The campaign helped make the short question recognizable far beyond California. Later advertisements became especially famous for showing celebrities and fictional characters with milk moustaches, although the campaign’s original commercials did not depend on that visual device.
The phrase is sometimes confused with “Got Milk?” parody products or with the national “Milk Mustache” advertising associated with the Milk Processor Education Program. The California campaign was a separate program, even though both promoted milk consumption and sometimes used similar imagery.