Campaign milks buses, billboards

Got milk ads? Four Reno buses do, and soon 17 billboards in the area will, too.

The local campaign - "Calves Love Milk" - is part of the American Dairy Association's three-a-day drive to encourage people to eat or drink three dairy products daily.

The national campaign is a yearlong effort and includes a promotional web site, billboards, and ads in both consumer and trade magazines aimed at health professionals.

The local ads, sponsored by the Northern Nevada Dairymen and developed by Reno-based Innerwest Advertising and Public Relations, feature the calves of a hiker climbing rock.

They've been placed on four Citifare buses as so-called tail ads that wrap around the rear of a bus.

Starting in June National Dairy Month the ads will be rotated on 17 billboards throughout Reno and Sparks until the end of the year.

The goal, said Calder Chism, creative director at Innerwest, is to reach threefourths of the area's population.

As far as the ad design, simplicity was the key.

"We had several mandates," said Chism.

"We were required to say three-a-day, milk, cheese and yogurt.

And we try not to have too many words on outdoor (ads) because no one can read it otherwise."

That left just enough room for a headline - "Calves Love Milk." It is also designed to appeal to some younger consumers who have turned to soy products as an alternative to milk and other dairy products.

"Soy isn't terrible, but there are other things," said Libby Lewis, a registered dietitian and program manager with the Dairy Council of Utah-Nevada.

She said the dairy campaign couldn't have come at a better time.

Apparently, milk isn't just good for helping prevent osteoporosis, according to recent research.

One recently released study, said Lewis, shows that the calcium in dairy products helps people lose weight while other current research shows that low-fat dairy products also help reduce blood pressure.