Aubrey Plaza Is Making People Think Wood Milk Is Real (But It's Not)
"Have you ever looked at a tree and thought — could I drink this?" actress Aubrey Plaza asks in an Instagram video for her latest new project, Wood Milk. We see your wheels turning and your brows furrowing, so we'll start off by saying that, yes, it's milk made from trees. Although it may seem like practically anything can be made into milk these days, that's just the idea that this campaign plays on. If you've tried all the different kinds of trendy plant-based milk out there and decide this is next on your list, don't bother. Wood Milk isn't real, but believe it or not, it does serve a hilariously marketed purpose.
As the founder of this nature-based endeavor, Plaza is the face of Wood Milk, and delivers her pitch to the milk-loving world in the classic deadpan style beloved by her fans. In the promotional video, the comedian is seen frolicking in Wood Milk Orchards, embracing trees whilst caressing and smiling at them tenderly. We learn about the product, which is sludged from trees grown "right out of the ground," splinters and all.
We're fairly sure that Plaza, the comedic gem that she is, could sell us pretty much anything at this point. But, why on earth is it Wood Milk? If her thick milk mustache didn't clue you in, this gag was indeed created by the marketing organization behind the iconic "Got Milk?" slogan that surfaced in the '90s.
Wood Milk is actually promoting real milk
If you relish the idea of receiving head-whipping double takes while wearing a "Got Wood?" t-shirt in public, you'll be glad to know that the only thing real about Wood Milk is the merch. Proceeds will go to the One Tree Planted non-profit with the goal of planting 10,000 trees just in time for Earth Day. Spearheading this fake promo is the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), whose website for Wood Milk pokes fun at the fancy buzzwords plastered on new products. It has a hearty "blend of trunks, roots and branches" and uses wood only "grown in bio-diverse, eco-friendly, artisanal, regenerative, free-range" forests. That's a mouthful, as we can imagine consuming milked wood must also be.
However, MilkPEP didn't have Aubrey Plaza dress like a lumberjack to promote Wood Milk just for its tree-planting mission. Even though it's all a stunt, the company makes sure to drill into our brains that this "product" has absolutely zero nutritional value. MilkPEP wants viewers to know that, when comparing real dairy milk to alternatives like almond, coconut, and even pecan milk, nothing's as good as the real thing (or so they say).
As MilkPEP chief executive and chief marketing officer Yin Woon Rani explained to The Drum, "With zero nutritional value, our fictitious Wood Milk brand is designed to encourage consumers to educate themselves on their beverage options and the differences in the nutritional profiles within." Indeed, not all milk is created equal — some of it isn't even real.