Thursday, April 15, 2010
About Those "Breast Milk Satisfies" Billboards
Posted by Vince Grzegorek on Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 12:43 PM
- Does a body good, I hear.
You've probably seen this billboard around town — there's one on the side of I-71 near the Fulton Rd. exit, and a reader spotted this one in Lakewood. It's jarring, for sure, and while one might say to one's self, Sure, that baby looks pretty satisfied with some mammary milk, one might also ask one's self, What the hell is this for?
Just who or what is behind the billboards that aim to keep babies satiated on sustenance from their mom's bosoms?
It's a statewide campaign from the Ohio Health Department that, according to this Fox Toledo report, is meant to "to show that breast milk is the perfect food for infants and it's promoting the bond between a mother and a child."
It's also drawing some, er, different responses, like from those who are a little taken aback by the imagery of a little baby frothing at the mouth and drooling said breast milk. That same Fox Toledo report quoted one such concerned citizen:
Stephanie Swan says she thinks promoting breast feeding is a good idea, but one of the ads she says is distasteful"When I first saw it I thought, you know, I agree with breast milk, it's fine but then I saw it with the milk around its mouth and I though that was so unappealing.The baby's cute, but I did not like the milk coming out of his mouth" said Swan.
The real question, though, is whether the message is getting through, even if some people are irrationally offended.
Scene's received a smattering of comments from readers already, like the one who submitted the photo above, who had this to say:
The little fella looks SATISFIED AS HELL — like a tit vampire with all the drool and boob milk dripping off his chin.
Yep, seems like the message is getting through loud and clear.
Comments (9)
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Better yet, is the Ohio Dept. of Health accepting applications to test donors for said program?
The billboard in Lakewood is actually in Cleveland - right across the street from Lakewood. Strangely enough, the billboard is attached to a biker bar called "Billy-C's". I'm not sure if the intended message about breast-feeding is coming through when the billboard is right above a bar.
i fear we are all missing the point here. Breast milk is good for kids as has been documented in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Harvard Medical Review and countless other credible publications. Personally i was breast fed on a daily basis until i was 15 year old and MOTHER still allows for a special treat straight from the source at family holiday gatherings, my birthday and other special occasions. It helps with brain development. At 56, I am a charter member of Mensa and have an IQ of 172. Thank god for MOTHER'S gargantuan vessels of pure, sweet Lactose Homo Sapias.
Just google "Got Milk?" ads. If you do that you will find thousands of pictures of people young and old, cartoons, puppets, and more all holding a glass of cow's milk with a painted on milk mustache. These ads have been plastered all over the country far and wide and I doubt there isn't a single one of us who hasn't seen one of these ads on ... See Morebillboards, commercials, magazines, or even newspapers.
Still, put a baby on a billboard, basically do the same thing with the painted on milk and the only difference is this ad now has the word BREAST milk on it, and suddenly it goes from "cute" to "disgusting".
So it certainly can not be the milk running down the baby's chin because the 'Got Milk?" ads have milk on people's faces. Can't be the word "Milk" because both ads have that word. The word "Satisfies" possibly can not be the culprit, because, let's face it, milk can indeed be satisfying. So what's left? The word "BREAST"!!!
Oh no!
But wait, haven't I seen some billboards and ads encouraging women to do monthly self breast exams?? I believe so! I believe they have commercials about that too.
The "disgust" must just come from the horrible combination of the words "breast" AND "milk". (.)(.) They are functional. They produce milk after one gives birth. It's life, it's nature, it real.
I agree people need to get over this.
Breast milk satisfies...suck a titty for health!!! I can imagine a second phase of this billboard campaign, in which the babies involved are ACTUALLY sucking on mommy's titties, but that alone would stir up the hornet's nest, so to speak. Maybe put pictures or images from old Russ Meyer movies or photographs of native topless women from National Geographic in those "breast milk" ads. The word "Satisfies" hearkens back to an earlier era, where cigarette billboard, magazine, and, going even further back, TV ads, promote cigarettes as "satisfying". One such ad, which does sound similar to the "Breast Milk Satisfies" ads, was for Chesterfield cigarettes, which read, "Always Buy Chesterfield...They Satisfy!!!"
