Mickey Kaus endorses the view that this picture of Dick Cheney depicts the VP with a Hitler mustache.
But the picture, in which the phrase "Got Oil?" is scrawled in -- you guessed it -- oil on Cheney's forehead, is a fairly obvious reference to the ubiquitous "Got Milk" ads that you've seen fourteen million times in the last decade, not a reference to History's Greatest Monster.
But Man Without Qualities chimes in to say it can't be a reference to the Got Milk ads. MWQ's "point" boils down to this:
"How are Europeans supposed to understand that image if they've never been exposed to the ads?"
He goes to the trouble of searching the UK Dairy Council's web site for references to the Got Milk campaign. Finding none, he concludes that our friends across the pond have "never been exposed to the ads."
Oh, really?
The Got Milk ads have been around for a decade. Ten years. The Dairy industry spends $150 million on it each year. The campaign has "spawned hundreds of GOT MILK? rip-offs" and "redefined marketing to such an extent that it’s taught in the nation’s top business schools" and "become a multi-million dollar licensing property."
Oh, and they've featured some of the world's most recognizable faces and bodies.
Are we really to believe that Europeans are completely unaware of this? Do a Google search for "Got Milk." You'll get 61,000 hits. Many of which feature reproductions or parodies of the ads, and many of which feature world-famous pop-culture icons. And you'll find sites like this and like this.
We know that pretty much the most common use of the Internet is viewing pictures of celebrities, right? And many of those attractive celebrities have appeared in 'Got Milk' ads. You've got to assume those ads have been seen by Europeans.
Actually, you don't have to assume it. The most damning point against MWQ's theory is that you can do a Google search for the phrase "Got Milk," limited to .UK domains. Try it. You'll get 843 results.
Including this article on the Teacher Support Network's UK web site.
And this press release on the Dairy Council's UK web page (oops, I guess Man Without Qualities just missed that one; he says "The UK Dairy Council site doesn't mention a "got milk?" campaign.")
And this BBC article, which references the "Got Milk?" campaing without feeling the need to explain to the Brits what it is.
In the Internet Era (not to mention the Celebrity-Worship Era) does anyone really think that this celebrity-driven $150 million/year marketing campaign is something the British are unfamiliar with? Well, anyone other than Man Without Qualities and Mickey Kaus?
That, with all due respect, is the stupidest thing I've heard this week. MWQ has a fantastic Blog, (far better than this little start-up, obviously) but, if I may offer a little advice: less time searching Dairy Council web sites, more time applying common sense.
UPDATE: Man Without Qualities clarifies: "When I noted above that: The UK Dairy Council site doesn't mention a "got milk?" campaign, I was refering to use of a "got milk?" campaign in the UK." Read more on his blog. That's a fair distinction. Fair enough, at least, that my earlier reference to the Dairy Council site shouldn't be read as a challenge to his accuracy or integrity.
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