Got Milk?: Becomes Work of Art

Got Milk Becomes Work of Art
One of America's longest running, and most beloved, advertising campaigns is to become an exhibition at Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts. A cultural museum and educational center located in Napa Valley, California, Copia will feature "got milk?" from January 21 through May 30, 2005.

While most advertising is regarded as "disposable," usually lasting a year or less, got milk? has endured for more than a decade since its birth in 1993. It's been licensed nationally, spawned hundreds of rip-offs and become part of the American vernacular. With the opening of the Copia exhibit later this month, got milk? is elevated beyond the advertising world into the realm of art, reaching a stature never before achieved by an advertising campaign.

"got milk? embodies many of the qualities associated with contemporary art: improvisation, humor and a timelessness that appeals to people of all ages," says Richard Koshalek, President, Art Center College of Design, and previous Director and former Chief Curator of LA's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).

The exhibition, which spans nearly 12 years, was created from the archives of the California Milk Processor Board and their San Francisco-based ad agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. The exhibit highlights how got milk? was transformed from a regional ad campaign to a