The holidays are full of temptation for the dairy sensitive. Rather than pass on classic dishes, many indulge in dairy only to pay the consequences later. While Lactaid is 100% real milk (without the lactose that bothers tummies), many consumers were confused on whether it was in fact, real milk. We needed to show consumers that throughout the hectic holidays they could rely on Lactaid. Whether subbed into a holiday recipe or enjoyed on its own, Lactaid is the real deal. Because we had nothing to hide, we featured a glass of milk—pure and simple. We focused on Pinterest, where our audience was already searching for holiday inspiration and recipe ideas.
The Strategy
During the holiday season, we are all in a constant state of menu planning. Dairy is a key ingredient in many of our favorite holiday foods, making this time stressful for our audience (people with dairy sensitivities and lactose intolerance). Lactaid is 100% real milk, just without lactose—so it can help alleviate these anxieties and any tummy issues. We needed to educate our consumers that because it's real milk it can be substituted into recipes, enjoyed on its own, or better yet, as one half of the most famous holiday duo ever—milk and cookies.
The Creative Idea
When it comes to milk, there’s the real deal and then there are the imposters. To spread the word that Lactaid is 100% real milk, we turned to those who know real milk best—cookies. We hand-made three beautiful, elaborate worlds made entirely of cookies, frosting and other edible elements. For Halloween, a ghost cookie left its graveyard behind to get to the Lactaid Milk. For Thanksgiving, a turkey cookie said farewell to its farm with the help of a friend. For our holiday campaign, a gingerbread man made a run for it and parachuted down into a glass of Lactaid. All of these videos proved one thing: cookies always fall for real milk.
The Execution
We designed two unique scenes within a single Pinterest video unit to create the illusion of two Pins interacting with each other. The top Pin featured whimsical worlds made entirely of cookies and icing, while the bottom Pin showcased a kitchen scene with a glass of Lactaid Milk. Then, we surprised and delighted viewers when each cookie broke out of its frame. Stop-motion photography captured the cookies' great escape—from their first step to their final splash. We took more than 6,000 pictures to get the perfect effect.
Our goal was to break through the clutter and achieve a big reach on Pinterest. Throughout our 3-month campaign flight, we achieved 100 million impressions and more than 8.5 million video views. Moreover, the campaign had a cost-per-view that was 18 times more efficient than the industry average. Monthly traffic to the Lactaid Pinterest page increased significantly during our campaign, from 440k page visits to 12.58 million—28 times more traffic than we received in the month prior to launch.
