Still showing a milo tin with 'A Milo Family Album' underneath

https://www.nfsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/video/poster_image05-2017/cover_image_-_milo_-_family_album.jpg

MILO Cinema Advertisements

Two cinema ads from 1948

Synopsis

One cinema advertisement for MILO shows how to get a good night’s rest and plenty of energy for the morning – just drink a cup of MILO before bedtime - whereas the other advertisement from 1948 shows a ‘real Milo family’ who drink the chocolate flavoured beverage for health, enjoyment, rest and sleep.

Curator’s notes

by Poppy De Souza

According to Nestlé's MILO website, more MILO is sold each year than the weight of the Sydney Harbour Bridge! MILO is one of Nestlé's most familiar brands and has been around since the 1930s. Over that time the product has been advertised in a number of ways, changing in style and tone to adapt to its audience.

In The Joy of Living MILO is branded as ‘the tonic of the times’ and the man and woman featured in the ad are young single adults.

Meanwhile in Family Album MILO is marketed as a drink that the whole family can enjoy: the chocolate-flavoured powder (or ‘fortified tonic food’ as the packaging says) is a favourite with Ian, the youngest character in the ad, but is also regularly consumed by the adults for its health benefits.

The prints of these cinema advertisements held at the National Film and Sound Archive is part of the Roger McKenzie collection. McKenzie, along with his friend Bernie Kent, built a private collection of films that included cinema advertisements, a large number of newsreel segments, early documentary and actuality footage. McKenzie and Kent worked as technicians in the industry and also made their own home movies.

Nestlé’s MILO: The Joy of Living (1948)

NFSA-ID:

NFSA ID

42920

Year:

Year

1948

This cinema advertisement for MILO shows how to get a good night’s rest and plenty of energy for the morning – just drink a cup of MILO before bedtime!

To be bright and full of energy in the mornings, it is crucial to get a good night’s rest.

A man who has a heavy dinner, reads horror books and tosses and turns all night is the perfect illustration of ‘how not to enjoy a good night’s rest’.

At the chemist where a woman buys a tin of MILO, she is told to follow the ‘golden rules for sleeping well’. These are taking your mind off things by reading a little, having a light supper, and drinking a cup of MILO before bed, which ‘soothes the body and nerve’. She has a full night’s rest.

The voice-over saying that MILO ‘helps build up reserves of energy’ accompanies images of an ice skater. Children are shown who love MILO because it is a delicious chocolate flavoured drink.

The ad lists MILO’s added vitamins and minerals before the final line: 'MILO, it’s the tonic of the times’.

Summary by Poppy De Souza.

Nestle’s MILO: Family Album (1948)

NFSA-ID:

NFSA ID

242744

Year:

Year

1948

John and his family are introduced through a real life family album. As the pages are turned, the voice-over tells the story of their lives. The first picture is of John as a young boy, followed by a picture of John and his wife on their wedding day. Their four children – Barbara, Peter, Janet and Ian – are shown and each describes what they do. The youngest, Ian, says he loves ‘football, cricket and MILO’. This reveals them as a ‘real MILO family’. They are shown in their living room drinking cups of MILO which they drink regularly and before bedtime every night.

A product shot is accompanied by voice-over listing MILO’s properties as a ‘fortified tonic food’ infused with vitamins and minerals, along with its chocolate flavoured blend of country milk and malted cereals.

Summary by Poppy de Souza.