Milk perks up tired men
Milk perks up tired men was an advertising slogan of the West German dairy industry that originated in the 1950s. The slogan is still very well known among the population today and has found its way into general usage (sometimes in ironic variations), so that it has become a catchphrase .
rhetoric
The slogan was based on the positive image of milk, which was particularly promoted in the 1950s during the post-war period and the economic miracle . Among other things, the numerous milk bars that opened at the time are today a symbol of the lifestyle of that time.
The rhetorical figure of alliteration used in the sung slogan, i.e. the repetition of the initial letter M, here even in every word of the sentence ( tautogram ), reinforced the advertising message and impressed it intensely on the broad target audience. All follow-up campaigns (see below) also used the alliteration of the M as a stylistic device, albeit with less frequency.
Advertising message
The truth of the advertising message is unclear. Milk itself has no stimulating or even performance-enhancing effect. On the contrary, the high content of tryptophan in milk seems to be partly responsible for its sleep-promoting effect.
The slogan also indirectly addresses the allegedly particularly positive health effects of milk, which are repeatedly cited . Except for infants and toddlers, milk is not an essential staple food , despite its supposedly high calcium content . Against the background of lactose intolerance that is not uncommon (around 10% in the German population, up to 90% in other parts of the world) and protein allergies , the generalization of the advertising message that is propagated can be viewed critically. Milk is also rich in calories due to its fat content and the preparations are often high in sugar.
In addition, the saying even alludes to a regaining of sexual “virility” by drinking milk, which was unusually frivolous for the time. Decades later, this image was again alluded to in television commercials for a dairy company, in which an attractive young man was shown lounging on a bed in the bedroom, lightly clad, enjoying a milk drink.
Continuation
The successful image and sales promotion campaign has been continued in various modifications to this day, launched, managed and paid for jointly by the Central Marketing Society of the German Agricultural Industry (CMA), founded in 1970, and the European Union . For example, in the 1970s it was said “Milk is against Maroditis” (where Maroditis was a word created ), in the 1980s without a specific statement “Milk does it”, and in 1991 the original slogan was relaunched . Since June 2005 the motto has been "Milk is my strength" for an initial three years. This campaign, managed by the advertising agency Scholz & Friends , is the largest joint campaign by the CMA and EU for milk to date. She employs numerous celebrities from film, television and sports (e.g. Marcel Wüst ) as so-called “milk ambassadors”.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Does milk perk up tired men? ( Memento from May 25, 2005 in the Internet Archive ), Here from four , MDR
- ↑ This word creation also found its way into common linguistic usage, see example from Der Spiegel : "The maroditis of the world monetary system became acute in mid-January: when Italy and Switzerland left the Washington Agreement ..." of February 12, 1973
- ↑ Website of the follow-up campaign “Milk is my strength” ( Memento of the original from December 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Website Marcel Wüst
