Drink It Like Beckham: Silk Nextmilk Drops Celeb Heir Studded Plant-Based ‘Got Milk’ Campaign

A new campaign by Silk Nextmilk features the children of David Beckham, Shaquille O’Neal, John Travolta and Christie Brinkley with plant-based milk mustaches in a recreation of the popular pro-dairy 90s adverts their parents starred in.

In a nod to the iconic Got Milk campaign that turned a generation of young Americans into cow milk lovers, Danone’s plant-based milk brand Silk has brought on a host of acting, sports and modeling heirs for a new campaign aimed at inspiring a new generation of plant-based milk drinkers. The company has launched a new plant-based milk range dubbed Silk Nextmilk made from oats and coconut and featuring soy protein that it says contains 75% less sugar and 30% fewer calories than whole-fat animal dairy milk.

Silk Nextmilk’s campaign features celebrity progeny Ella Bleu Travolta, Sailor Brinkley Cook, Brooklyn Peltz Beckham and the O’Neal siblings, all of whom follow majority plant-based diets, holding a glass of plant-based milk and showcasing plant-based milk mustaches and the tag-line ‘nextmilk is a better milk, who’s next?’ in a recreation of their famous parents’ ‘Got Milk’ ads.

“I grew up in a plant-based household, so it’s extra important for me to reach for great-tasting products in my diet,” says model Brinkley Cook, whose mother is supermodel Christie Brinkley. “I have a real sweet tooth and I love dunking my favorite vegan cookies in Silk Nextmilk.” 

“I love cooking and trying new recipes with my wife,” says media personality and former model Peltz Beckham, son of footballer David Beckham and pop star turned fashion mogul Victoria Beckham. “It’s exciting to have an option like Silk Nextmilk when we are doing a plant-based meal.”

The ads are a nod to the iconic ‘Got Milk’ campaign created in 1994 by advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Milk Processor Board, which became one of the most recognizable, widely admired and imitated marketing campaigns in history. ‘Got Milk’ was also incredibly effective, helping to reverse declining milk consumption in California for the first time in decades. Over the years that it ran, the campaign featured over 100 high-profile celebrities, from actors to athletes, including Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears, Elton John, Harrison Ford, Serena Williams and Brooke Shields as well as David Beckam, Christie Brinkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kelly Preston.

Industrial dairy production has come under attack in recent years due to its significant environmental footprint, ranking high for greenhouse gas emissions, as well as land use, water use, deforestation and animal cruelty. Dairy cows are routinely forcibly impregnated – a highly invasive and painful procedure- every year with no break in between to raise their calves. A slew of plant-based brands has arisen over the past 10 years to offer consumers an alternative to dairy milk serving shoppers looking for more environmentally friendly options as well as those with lactose allergies. According to the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), plant-based milk drinks account for 15% of the total milk market.

Silk’s portfolio of plant-based dairy offerings includes various kinds of milk drinks made from oats, almonds, soy, cashews and coconuts, as well as non-dairy creamers and yogurts. Silk is owned by Danone North America, a food giant that owns a wide range of consumer brands including another plant-based range So Delicious and animal dairy company Horizon Organic in its portfolio.

“Silk Nextmilk is here for the next generation of milk drinkers, and as a proud vegan and Silk fanatic, I’m thrilled to be one of the first faces repping Silk with a plant-based ‘stache,” says Ella Bleu Travolta, daughter of actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston. “I’m a baking enthusiast, so if I’m not drinking a glass of Silk Nextmilk, I’m adding it to a batch of my homemade plant-based banana bread.”

Silk Nextmilk is lactose-free, made from non-GMO ingredients and boasts 25% fewer calories than dairy milk. The vegan range, which includes Whole Fat and Reduced Fat varieties, is available nationwide in the US via retailers such as Target, Kroger and Walmart.

 “Family is extremely important to me; I’m grateful to have my siblings by my side as we define our own plant-based ‘stache legacy with Silk Nextmilk,” says up-and-coming DJ Myles O’Neal, scion of basketball superstar Shaquille. “Adding more plant-based options into my routine helps keep things fresh, and I enjoy Silk Nextmilk as a base for my morning protein shakes without lactose.”