Milk Board Reverses Course on Controversial PMS Campaign
- Posted on July 22, 2011 at 7:35am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (The Blaze/AP) — Responding to a wave of criticism, a California milk board on Thursday modified an advertising campaign that targeted men by promoting milk as a way to lessen the effects of premenstrual syndrome.
The California Milk Processor Board decided to alter its two-week-old campaign, which portrayed men as the victims of temperamental women. Now, it redirects users from its website, www.everythingidoiswrong.org , to another that will encourage discussion of the issue.
Ad campaign spokeswoman Tatum Wan said it succeeded in promoting the board’s message that milk can soften the effects of PMS symptoms.
“The new site is to help foster the conversation that came up as a result of the campaign that launched last week,” she said.
The new site is called gotdiscussion.org:
Some of that discussion is not entirely favorable toward the milk board, which posted a sampling of the responses on the campaign’s website. A comment from Jezebel, a blog aimed at women, said “Telling men they’re victims of PMS sure is an interesting way to sell milk,” while a Facebook post read, “I‘m a comedian and I’m not laughing.”
The campaign’s original website showed pictures of men around features as a color-coded “current global PMS level” and “video apology enhancer.”
Rebecca Cullers, a contributor to AdWeek who wrote an editorial after the “Everything I Do Is Wrong” campaign launched, said she was not surprised that the California Milk Processor Board decided to modify the campaign so quickly.
“The fact is, they‘re pretending that women are completely irrational beings during their time of the month and they’re blaming PMS. And PMS has a wide variety of symptoms. It’s having back pains, cramps, irritability,” she said in a telephone interview Thursday evening. “In their mind, it’s something to joke about.”
Cullers said modifying the campaign was probably the best move the board could have made.
“To do nothing would have been appalling. I don’t think they thought that this reaction was going to occur. They probably thought it was really funny,” she said.
The milk board posted an apology on its updated web page and thanked everyone who responded.
“Over the past couple of weeks, regrettably, some people found our campaign about milk and PMS to be outrageous ad misguided – and we apologize for those we offended. Others thought it funny and educational. It has opened up a topic that affects women, of course, but also relationships.”
Wan said the milk board’s executive director, Steve James, was traveling Thursday and unavailable for comment. Last week, he told The Associated Press that the campaign was not intended to be offensive but rather to encourage men and women to have a conversation about a sometimes taboo topic.
The campaign, launched last week and originally scheduled to run through August, included the website, billboards in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and announcements on National Public Radio.
The billboards showed harried-looking men holding cartons of milk accompanied by tag lines such as “I’m sorry I listened to what you said and NOT what you meant,“ or ”I apologize for not reading between the RIGHT lines.”
Wan says the billboards will be replaced next week with ones directing viewers to the campaign’s new website, http://gotdiscussion.org.
Jessica Coen, the editor in chief of Jezebel, said over the telephone that it was reassuring to see the changes that were made to the campaign so quickly.
“They’re obviously aware and are responding to it. And the changes they made, as to the discussion, that’s such a tired and hackneyed way to approach it,” she said. “You can still talk about the PMS issue, you can still use that discussion, but not the way they did it.”
The Milk Processor Board is overseen by the state Department of Food and Agriculture and is funded by contributions from dairy processors in California, the nation’s top milk provider.
The group based the campaign on studies that have found a link between calcium intake and fewer PMS symptoms. For example, it cited a 2005 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine that found calcium improved PMS symptoms in more than 1,000 women. The study received some funding from GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures calcium supplements.
The board also refers to a 1999 study showing calcium could relieve symptoms such as irritability, depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, headache and cramps. That study was published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, and its author also had financial ties with the drug maker.
While the FDA recommends daily consumption of calcium, Sheri Zidenberg-Cherr, chairwoman of the Department of Nutrition at the University of California, Davis, told the AP last week that she was unaware of any studies showing calcium could improve the effects of premenstrual syndrome.
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Comments (79)
FedUpAlready
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:33amIn cultures, where menstruating women were sent to other areas of the camp, I would imagine the atmosphere was that of a vacation spa. Wow, imagine a one week vacation away from men, every month. LOL
Report Post »drattastic
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 12:05pmSounds like a vacation for the men as well. I’m in lets do it.
Report Post »independentvoteril
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 12:13pmPMS= Putting up With Men’s s*it.. SPA does sound nice NO KIDS??? HEAVEN.. let DAD put up with it all.. BET if they had that here women would claim PMS 21 out of 28 days..LOL
Report Post »mrknite
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 12:35pmIf you mean a bunch of woman with PMS or just menstruating all together a vacation, then wow only if you’re a sadist lol. Logic and rational thinking are lost at that time…it’s an emotional terrorist attack on anyone that is near, God help the ones at that spa!!
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 2:39pmI don’t know what the H*** they are talking about, who the H*** made them the PMS police..women are NOT prone to mood swings during PMS…bunch of backwoods barbarians…whoops…must be my time of the month….are you kidding me!
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 3:15pmSo what’s the biological reason for post menopausal women to act like……. (rhymes with witches)?
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 4:25pmsoooo Ted…whats the biological reason most men go through a midlife crisis…as they call it…you know the ones that dump their wives of 25 years and marry something the age of their children…whats that called Ted…rhymes with mule!…starts with an F…I am tired of people saying women that are on their period or going through menapause are what did you say b******…I’m going through menapause (can you tell) and I am not a b****…just trying to prove a point…I think if you’re a b***** in the first place, chances are you’ll remain one, throughout all this…just my opinion though!
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 4:36pmGodlovinmom..I’m not sure what you mean. My wife of nearly 40 years will have to explain it to me. My point is, I’m tired of hearing an excuse for women, or men for that matter, to act like jerks. It’s 2011 for crying out loud, women don’t have the baby out in the field and go back to work later in the day. If you have a problem, take a pill for it. Just stop whining about it.
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 4:47pmokay we’re on the same level…..society does indeed make an excuses for everything…bratty kid..excuse ADD..witchy…excuse..menopausal…a person goes and murders their child…excuse…sexually abused as a child…it never ends…per society and “science”…there’s an excuse for everything. I thought you were making another excuse…sorry about that!
Report Post »chips1
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:50pmMarried with Children—-“The Camping Show”
Report Post »freedomofspeech
Posted on July 23, 2011 at 2:36ammake it two weeks and I’m in too.
Report Post »kestrel27
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:24amI’ve always subscribed to the belief that some things are personal and just not meant for public comsumption. PMS falls into that category like hemmeroids or bowel problems. It’s your issue, deal with it, but don’t blame it for sucky behavior. There is nothing worse than sitting somewhere public, listening to some woman whine about her PMS so God and country can hear it. Same goes for people that sit around and talk about their bowel problems. Of course with people seeming to need to post every detail of their boring lives on Youtube and Facebook, I can see why nothing is private. anymore.
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:31amBack before menopause hit, and I had this problem, I always found that if my husband mentioned I was moody, I could stop it. Maybe I didn’t get it as bad as some women, but knowing I was going through it helped deal with it so I was nicer to be around. And yes, I think it‘s a private issue and shouldn’t have a national campaign. Besides, isn’t milk bad for you during that time?
Report Post »Buttercup
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:53amWhile we’re at it, could we please put the Cailis, Viagra, etc. commercials to rest? Not every male has a problem in that area, and frankly, it’s embarrassing. I don’t need to know about PMS, ED, menstrual cramps, bladder leakage, condoms, etc. If you have any of those problems, just deal with it. Hey, advertisers, got that?
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:19amEverybody knows,
ONLY minorities and women can be victims!
Look at the DHS ‘report a terrorist’ video – all the terrorists are white males. All the ‘good citizens’ who report those white men are all asian or hispanic.
The video was a JOKE. It was meant to sell milk to men. Men who already KNOW that women are not monsters, but, who sometimes FEEL that way – about once a month, coincidentally. LOL
This is just censorship. EXACTLY like boycotts are censorship. They shut down freedom of speech.
The socialist democrats are so attuned to that giant chip on their shoulder, they cannot even allow HUMOR unless it is THEIR humor, attacking the evil white man and his tesosterone poisoned ways.
I wonder if the courts could find ORGANIZED boycotts to be prohibited by the 1st Amendment?
Report Post »They ARE certainly anti-free-speech!
Jenny Lind
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:00amThis is a suject close to my heart. When I was young there was no such thing as pms, we did or didn’t have a crampy day. Since no one gave us permission to act like idiots, we didn’t. I listen to my daughters and grandaughters and it seem they want to blame everything on pms. They allow crappy behavior, tantrums, anger, ect, BECAUSE they can blame it on pms. I don’t buy into it , so they don’t try it on me. It’s amazing how different they are around me and at home! However, whatever works for them…………great way to get someone to buy chocolate for them. I keep a supply on hand.
Report Post »Favored93
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:13am@ Jenny Lind
Report Post »Couldn’t agree more (Favored93′s Wife). I’ve been raised to take responsibility for my outbursts/moods/whatever. Blaming anything on PMS would not fly. Now I know there are some women who genuinely have trouble maintaining to the point that they take medication to maintain a mental balance. But for those of women who don’t, you are bigger than your moods, cravings, and anger. And as far as the ad is concerned, I think its providing another excuse for poor behavior.
Patrick in AZ
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 2:06pmSo women got temperamental over an ad that suggested women get temperamental? Ironic. Of course it is still completely acceptable to make men look like idiots in ads.
Report Post »cookcountypatriot
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:59ampms is gods way of saying to men…stay single!..lol no seriously….pms is a progressive affliction,,perpetual pms runs rampant in the democratic party,,look at any female high profile dem,obama,clinton,mikulski,whatshernameshultz,shumer,reid,franken,the entire black caucas,all these gals have pepetual pms…and we think they just hate america….drink your milk and eat your peas
Report Post »FoxieNews
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:34amI‘ll be the first to admit that I’m completely irrational that time of the month, or rather, just before… my man knows when it‘s coming and so do I LOL Unfortunately he’s lactose intolerant so milk wouldn’t help him, but he‘s thankful he’s not beer intolerant, HA! However, I don‘t think it’s cool to make light of or make fun of PMS or PMDD; they are real and serious. I get moody, teary, irrational and physically weak. It’s no fun and I expect my man to take care of me not make fun of me. He’s very supportive and understanding. Our men are supposed to be empathetic of us and take it easy on us at that time of the month, not make fun of us. Besides, they have a time of the month too, it’s called All Month, am I wrong ladies? hahaha! Terms like “she’s on the rag” etc are as demeaning as calling someone retarded. So while I applaud the milk board for bringing this to discussion I don’t think it was their wisest decision to make fun of us ladies when “aunt flow” is visiting :P
Report Post »FoxieNews
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:40amWhy did the word *r*e*t*a*r*d*e*d* get censored from my comment? It was used in good context… Puhlease, fix ur word filters Blaze LOL
Report Post »chips1
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:57pm“DIAMONDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That will shut her up.”
Report Post »harumph
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:28amGot hit by the PC police, I see.
Report Post »The campaign is hillarious. My wife laughed. Then started pointing out all of my faults, but…
if the truth about milk helps, how can it hurt?
ConservDadASD
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:25am““The fact is, they‘re pretending that women are completely irrational beings during their time of the month”
Should the MB have assumed that women are completely serious beings without enough of a sense of humor to laugh about themselves, and not run the commercial?
Report Post »ConservDadASD
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:17amIn regards to consuming milk… find a source of the better stuff:
http://www.realmilk.org
Report Post »ConservDadASD
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:15amWho remembers this sketch from SNL… and how many women thought it was hilarious?
From “Top 20 Funniest SNL Commercials of all time”:
#9. Annuale: This commercial made the top ten because it‘s the best commercial I’ve seen in a very long time. When Tina Fey hosted the show in February of this year, she also clearly wrote this amazing commercial for “Annuale” birth control pills, a parody of “Seasonale”-a birth control pill that keeps women from menstruating for months at a time. “Annuale” keeps you period-free all year,…but when that one month a year comes? “Hold onto to your F-ING hats!” The commercial shows women having their once-a-year menstrual period and going into wild screaming rages, ripping off people’s heads and shoving their faces full of chocolate..
Would the critics of the milk board commercial have preferred if Amy Poehler and Tina Fey also appear on MB commercial?
Report Post »ying
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:55amI don’t know about that too much. I don’t think milk is good for shrinking prostates.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 11:01pmYour supposed to DRINK it.
Report Post »Mrose
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:55amOh Please. PMS is just God’s way of telling men to pick up after themselves once in a while.
Report Post »Mrose
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:52amOh please. PMS is just God’s way of telling men to clean up after themselves once in a while. (BTW It’s a joke.)
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:58amYes the truth hurts. PMS is the reason men play golf or watch sports. We need an escape mechanism.
Report Post »FoxieNews
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:38amLOL that is so true! I love seeing both sides of this.. he said and she said. However, we all know the rules: 1. Your woman is always right 2. If in doubt, refer to rule 1 =P
Report Post »jtm
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:49amWhat a bunch of whiners. Get over it. You must be PMSing.
Report Post »SREGN
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:20amI think I speak for all victims out there who wish that the veil of secrecy would be lifted, and more information like this milk thing would be released to the public. We, the physically and verbally abused every 28 days, are desperate for some relief. Got to go buy a few gallons now….
Report Post »Lawlcat001
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:41am“I’m sorry I listened to what you said and NOT what you meant,“ or ”I apologize for not reading between the RIGHT lines.” right? right?
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:43amI agree. Milk is our only weapon. PMS is a dirty little secret that needs more attention. This is what the mightiest of men fear most. We need to be protected, perhaps a tax deductible man cave or a government run safe house. I am sure more of us will come out of the shadows and speak the truth.
Report Post »NJTMATO
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:19amThis whole thing is stupid. I’ll keep my PMS to myself, thank you…and deal with it by complaining to another woman who understands what it’s like. It’s been around for centuries, it doesn’t need to be examined any more than it already has been. And…..MILK doesn’t do a thing.
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:52amYou are in denial.
Report Post »streetrodder
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:15amThis is udderly stupid!
Report Post »Rajabear1
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:52amFunny.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:12amWhy pretend the irrational part only happens at certain times of the month? Women, unlike men can actually feel a baby alive, kicking inside them, yet pretend it’s just a mass of inanimate tissue.
Report Post »If women were rational, there would be no Democratic Party to bring our country down.
notsofast
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:41amthis makes me think of a line in the movie 300. “it is only conservative women that can give birth to real Americans”.
Report Post »emertz8413
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:06amI agree Kickagrandma, milk never did anything for me either. A benedryl and hot washcloth on my forehead was all that worked for me, (the headaches were awful the last few years)
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:48amNow do we all agree that woman should never run for President. Imagine every 28 days there could be a nuclear armageddon. Please vote note no for any female candidate. Things are bad enough.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:06amI would love to see Sarah or Michelle B as our first PMS president. Both of them have bigger cajones than that slender fingered woose in the Whitehouse. It took Hillary to push Barry to Exterminate OBL.
Report Post »NOBALONEY
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:05amI’m not the brightest bulb in the room, but PMS is part of a woman’s cycle without which life would cease. Why is this topic part of Milk campaign?
Report Post »OccamsGun
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 9:59amWell, NoBaloney, I have to agree with your first statement, your *aren’t* the brightest bulb in the room… by a long shot. PMS is part of a woman’s cycle, true, and without it life would cease, true, but you left at that other part where we all know that this ‘natural’ cycle causes ‘natural’ hormone changes in a woman that causes her to have sometimes extreme (but always ‘natural’) mood swings that causes her, in many cases, to be a complete bitch who is impossible to live with yet alone reason with. PMS is part of a milk campaign because reseach has shown that milk moderates the mood swings.
Yet, just like a millon other politically correct issues, everyone is suppose to act like PMS doesn’t exist and women are exactly like men (except, according to feminist, in the many ways they are superior to men).
Report Post »psst
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:04amI wonder what the Harvey Millk milk company in Sanfran thinks about all of this
Report Post »HowardSternIsABigot
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 7:53amHow long till Bachmann is accused of PMS invalidating her run for president?
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:50amIt has crossed my mind, That and the migraines would be toxic.
Report Post »detest
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 7:53amYou would think a company would take it as a badge of honer when these type of people contact them threatening to boycott them. I would imagine that would be best for everyone, only non insane people are seen buying their product, and those that remain will become loyal after seeing they did not back down from the crazies. Then eventually once the “everything offends me” crowd realizes no one cares anymore, they will give up and buy the milk anyways. Win, Win.
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 7:51amI’ll admit that I can be a bit moody at that time of the month, but methinks the women pitching a fit over this ad must be premenstrual all month long. Pop a Pamprin with a cold glass of skim and lighten up already! It’s not the end of the world.
Report Post »LadyIzShy
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 7:45amLOL I Missed the original story and happen to think it was funny. most women are not monsters with PMS but some certainly are and it was a funny way to get men to pay attention to the milk ads. I do however wonder if all these women are throwing a fit about the girls in Canada that cant attend the services if they are menstruating . THAT was they thing to be upset about
Report Post »kickagrandma
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 7:51am@LADYIZSHY ~~~ I agree with you about the young girls in Canada. What an untoward situation and absolutely unacceptable. muslimes need to go back home to the middle east and leave the rest of the world alone. That they are being excluded should be a wake up call to those girls and make any one of them think, “Hey! What’s going on here?”
PMS is nothing to laugh about and milk doesn’t do diddly for it. I believe there is a “false advertising” agenda running here, and it also is demeaning (as usual) to women.
Report Post »Zorro6821
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:54amMaybe their onto something.
Report Post »dont tread
Posted on July 22, 2011 at 11:25amPMS – the greatest threat to our freedom today. Someone get those commi libs at the milk organization to stop ruining America.
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