We cast Aubrey Plaza, who is firmly planted within the internet meme zeitgeist, and her presence instantly brought credibility to the campaign. Additionally, the video's humor and content joined in on the unhinged and off-kilter tone of social media, which connected quickly with our target audience.

In the United States, alternative milks (non-dairy substitutes) are legally allowed to call themselves “milk,” and the industry will find just about anything to milk. From oat to almond to soy — and even cockroach milk — you name it. Even if you prefer alternatives, it’s getting a little ridiculous. We noticed people talking about it online and decided to take advantage of it.

Milk has faced decades of decline and dwindling cultural relevance. With intense competition from a whole new category of alternatives claiming to be Milk, we needed to revitalize its cultural presence.

To create conversation and debate, we created a fictional Alternative Milk called “Wood Milk,” with a famous Co-Founder, Aubrey Plaza. We launched this fictitious brand on all the channels you’d expect from a real brand; social, out-of-home, and through press and influencer outreach. We built DrinkWoodMilk.com, a bespoke ecommerce site, providing visitors with more information on “Wood Milk” and our “zero nutritional value” message, allowing them to purchase eco-friendly brand T-shirts.

We introduced a fictional brand, “Wood Milk.” With alternative milks taking a more aggressive and competitive approach to their marketing, we decided it was time to make a statement and put milk back in popular culture. The fact that the alternative milk industry will make milk out of just about anything is a funny and relatable insight, no matter what you drink. We wanted to highlight that there’s only one OG: Dairy Milk.

We created “Wood Milk” handles across all social media platforms, and for launch day, we posted the announcement of this new beverage on Aubrey’s IG page, as any excited founder would do. This post sparked quick conversation and caught the attention of other celebrities in the comment section, including Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. Within a week, our Instagram handle amassed 15k+ followers, and on X, we saw a growing squad of “Wood Milk” stans calling themselves #woodmilknation. As a fast follow-up to the increasing UGC we saw around #woodmilknation, we responded by rewarding our fans with #woodmilknation T-shirts and adding more momentum to the movement.

In the end, some loved it, some hated it, but what's undeniable is that a LOT of people talked about it. Our “Wood Milk” campaign went viral, making milk culturally relevant with a remarkable 60% increase in milk-related social mentions. The film garnered over 77 million views and achieved a paid performance of 805% above the industry benchmark. Over 18,000 people followed our fake brand in just one week, sparking an organic social movement dubbed #WoodMilkNation, generating thousands of memes and social conversations. Capital Press noted: “‘Wood Milk’ is blowing up social media, which is exactly what dairy milk companies were hoping for.” The campaign amassed 2.6 billion earned impressions, leading to a historic 22% increase in cultural relevance among our target audience while also posing an important question: IS YOUR MILK REAL MILK?

“What’s next in your coffee? Salmon milk? Hot dog milk?” - The Wall Street Journal

The humor insight that inspired the “Wood Milk” campaign was rooted in the need to cut through the noise of the crowded beverage market and re-engage consumers with traditional milk in a fresh and memorable way. We recognized that humor could be a powerful tool to disrupt the conventional advertising narrative around milk and milk alternatives. By creating a satirical product, “Wood Milk,” we aimed to highlight the absurdity of some milk alternatives and bring attention back to Dairy Milk.