Dairy farmers push cow power

In the 1990s, “things go better with Coca Cola” was the catchy slogan dairy farmers dreaded. At the time, milk producers were in a head-to-head battle with soft drink giants and losing.

Milk consumption had steadily declined over the previous two decades. One key reason was aggressive advertising by bottlers of iced tea, water and pop. In 1993, nationwide milk consumption declined 20% and was down to less than one cup per person per day.

So, in 1993 California’s dairy industry decided to mount an aggressive advertising effort. It was coordinated by the California Milk Processor Board with a $2...