R.I.P. 'Got Milk?' (1993-2014)

We gather here to pay our respects to the catchphrase that became a pop culture phenomenon, taught us all about osteoporosis, and managed to make milk mustaches look cool. We hardly knew ye, “Got Milk?”

On Monday, the national milk industry announced that “Got Milk?”, its iconic campaign featuring celebrities with a smear of milk on their upper lips, has been taken out to pasture. (Its replacement campaign, “Milk Life,” will have neither celebs nor milk mustaches.)

"We want to show how milk can help you power through everyday moments and everyday achievements," Sal Taibi told CNN. Taibi is president of Lowe Campbell Ewald, the agency involved in both the “Got Milk” and “Milk Life” campaigns.

The California dairy industry kickstarted the “Got Milk?” campaign started back in 1993, but it wasn’t until the next year that Naomi Campbell became the first celebrity to showcase her milk mustache. (Campbell’s ad is accompanied by an earlier version of the slogan, “Milk, what a surprise!”)

The national milk industry adopted “Got Milk” in 1995, and the rest is history. On the bright side, the California dairy industry will continue to use the “Got Milk?” campaign in ads.

Below, check out out our favorite “Got Milk” ads—presented without comment. Each, in its own way, is a perfect distillation of the state of pop culture the year of its creation. Case in point, Billy Ray Cyrus. That vest!

1994 — Naomi Campbell

1995 — Billy Ray Cyrus

1996 — Matthew Fox

1997 — Jonathan Taylor Thomas

1998 — Mark McGwire

1999 — Mike Myers as Austin Powers

2000 — Britney Spears

2001 —  Erik Per Sullivan

2002 — Zhang Ziyi

2003 — Steven Tyler

2004 — Lindsay Lohan

2005 — Serena Williams

2006 — Beyoncé and Tina Knowles

2007—Masi Oka

2008 — Taylor Swift

2009 — Danica Patrick

2010 — Reggie Bush

2011 — The Cast of “Modern Family”

2012 — Salma Hayek

2013 — Dwayne Johnson

[via the New York Post]