Yesterday was National Cow Day, and my favorite cow is
Borden's Elsie the Cow!
The History of Elsie the Cow:
In the 1930s, the dairy industry saw publicized price wars between
farmers and dairy processors that caused larger dairies to be portrayed
unfavorably. The cartoon Elsie was created by Borden’s advertising
agency in 1936 to help make the brand more friendly and approachable to
the public. The company first started advertising in medical journals,
which featured a variety of cartoon cows with several different names,
including Mrs. Blossom, Bessie, Clara and Elsie. A typical ad showed a
cow and calf talking in a milk barn.
In the 1930s, milk was not the drink we know today. Much that was sold
in the U.S. during the early part of the century was disease-laden. In
1907, the Department of Agriculture revealed that dairy cows frequently
carried tuberculosis and that unsanitary conditions on farms meant other
illnesses were carried in the milk supply as well. Most milk was
shipped to stores without any form of processing.
The Borden Company was in the forefront of change. They had purchased
a dairy in New Jersey that was among the first to install equipment for
pasteurization. However, the world changed slowly when it came to
perceiving that “processed” (pasteurized) milk was better than regular
cow’s milk.
Chicago was the first city to require pasteurizing of milk (1908) but
the first state-level mandate did not occur until 1947 when Michigan
passed such a law.
This meant that in 1930s dairy processors like Borden had their work
cut out for them to convince the public that their milk was more
worthy—and safer—than the dairy cow on a family farm.
Borden
ad man Stuart Peabody knew his first approach to selling Borden milk
needed to be through the medical establishment. If doctors understood
that pasteurized milk wouldn’t make people sick, they would start
recommending it to their patients.
Peabody felt the ads needed to be light in tone. His first ads were
in the form of Letters to Mama: “Dear Mama, I’m so excited I can hardly
chew! We girls are sending our milk to Borden’s now. Love Elsie.” These
ads were accompanied by artist Walter Early’s illustration of a perky,
friendly cow. (
The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising
credits Walter Early; the Borden site attributes David Reid with having
created the image of Elsie.
As early illustrations show, Elsie had a kindly face, huge brown
eyes, and wore a chain of daisies around her neck. She generally wore an
apron, and whatever she was doing, she had her calves around her.
Husband Elmer, later the face of Elmer’s Glue, took orders from her, repairing things around the house.
In 1938, Peabody expanded Elsie ads into some consumer publications,
and he began buying radio time for her as well. Elsie took off quickly.
A survey done in the 1940s found that 98 percent of the American public
recognized the Borden cow.
So in honor of National Cow Day and Ice Cream Month, here's an August 8, 1941 Retro ad and recipe from Borden's Eagle Brand for Magic Chocolate Ice Cream. I love Elsie the Cow, and I'm definitely take her advice on bringing "homemade ice cream to the social." Luckily, I have an automatic refrigerator! Gotta love these 'story' ads. "If it's Borden's, it's got to be good."
