4. Got Milk?

The "Got Milk?," campaign was envisioned and created by notable advertising firm Goodby Silverstein & Partners, who came up with the ad for the Milk Processor Board of California. The commercial was released back in 1994 and was an instant hit.

The commercial was formed around a simple idea, which most everyone can identify with; a mouth full of peanut butter and no milk to wash it down with. It opens with a man, working at some sort of museum, this man is sat down ready to eat his favorite sandwich while listening to the radio. There is a contest happening on the station he is tuned in to, and by luck the question is about former president Alexander Hamilton's killer, Aaron Burr. His phone then rings, he picks it up, it's the radio station calling to ask him the question he, most definitely, knows the answer to. As he goes to speak he realises he can't speak properly with his mouth all clogged up with peanut butter. Quickly, he rushes to the fridge to get the only known solvent for peanut butter, milk. But to his dismay, the milk is all gone. The radio station hangs up on him, and he looses the contest.

Though exaggerated, this problem, uniquely portrayed, is one many people suffer daily. Pouring out a big bowl of cereal only to find out you have no milk. That is why this ad was so successful; people empathized with the man.

The "Got Milk?" slogan became an instant hit, copy cats, imitators, and parodies were instant, a sure sign of success, as the words became ingrained in our culture.