Dairy Farmers of Ontario asks: 'What can't milk do?'

Even cats can't resist drinking straight out of the carton in a new marketing campaign from the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) promoting milk as a "contemporary and inspired" beverage choice.

"What can't milk do?" runs through Nov. 8 across TV, cinema, out-of-home, digital and social. Using a combination of humour and effects, it showcases milk's ability to help people—and apparently felines—get through their day.





The video ad from Toronto agency No Fixed Address (NFA) claims that milk can make you into a morning person and get you through tough tasks, while also forming the basis for everything from health-conscious foods like smoothies, to decadent desserts like creme brûlée.

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Following a spring campaign that profiled the province's dairy farmers and their high standards, this latest effort puts the emphasis squarely on the product—showcasing its versatility and the role it plays in a healthy diet. DFO's chief marketing officer, Sean Bredt, says the goal is to underscore milk's reputation as the "original superfood."

DFO's 4,000 members produce more than 2.5 billion litres of milk each year, but the campaign arrives amid growing concern among dairy farmers about changing consumer attitudes toward animal-based products like milk.

Those fears were exacerbated earlier this year, when Health Canada introduced a radically overhauled version of the Canada Food Guide that eliminated the dairy category and included it as part of broader protein category.

According to the Canadian Dairy Information Centre, consumption of fluid milk products—a group that includes buttermilk, chocolate milk and other flavoured milk, and eggnog—was 68.85 litres per person last year, down from an estimated 81.79L per person in 2009.

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Consumption of 2% milk, which comprises the largest category, was 32.79L, down from 37.45L a decade earlier, while consumption of 1% milk declined from 18.16L per person in 2009 to 11.92L per person last year.