Got Publicity Stunt? PMS Milk Ad gone bad

Those clever people who came up with the “Got Milk?” campaign, seem to have egg on their faces instead of the popular milk mustache. The group is known as The California Milk Processor Board, which recently came up with a new ad campaign expounding the virtues of milk in aiding the effects of PMS.

But wait. They didn’t just say “milk does PMS good.” No, they tried to be comedians and ended up leaving a bad taste in some people’s mouths. Bad taste + milk. Doesn’t really seem like a great strategy.

The Board created a website entitled “Everything I do is wrong,” and posted pics of mournful men holding out milk as if it were a peace offering.

To some, it portrayed men as the “real” sufferers of PMS. The Board said it was poking fun at men, but women, who actually suffer from the pain, discomfort, and mood swings associated with premenstrual syndrome, may not particularly enjoy being painted as crazy people or monsters. I mean, those guys looked pretty scared, and hey, everything they do is wrong, right?

Premenstrual syndrome is a very real issue faced by many women. Some common symptoms include cramping, headache, backache, tenderness, bloating, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, and of course the catchall irritability.

Perhaps the worst part is that milk is not really some miracle cure for PMS, and certainly not in and of itself.

The ad campaign was considered humorous by some, but many found it tacky or even offensive. But alas, no publicity is the only bad publicity, so although the ad has been canceled its creators are still getting some mileage out of it.

The “Everything I do is wrong” site has now been changed to “Got Discussion?” if you’d like to see what all the fuss is about. See what you think and feel free to comment below.