19:07 • 12 Oct 2008
Notes & Quotes
Got Elk?
When the California Milk Processing Board launched the first of its celebrated ‘Got Milk?’ advertisements in 1993 and trademarked the expression during the same year, it inadvertently sparked off a linguistic phenomenon. Americans are now inundated with ads, T-shirts and mail shots enquiring whether they’ve ‘got’ just about everything under the sun. Choice examples include ‘Got Firewall?’, ‘Got Vote?’, ‘Got Water?’, ‘Got Jesus?’ (popular as a bumper sticker), ‘Got Elk?’ and ‘Got Parking?’ (as used by the town of Castle Rock in an official mailing).
When the California Milk Processing Board launched the first of its celebrated ‘Got Milk?’ advertisements in 1993 and trademarked the expression during the same year, it inadvertently sparked off a linguistic phenomenon. Americans are now inundated with ads, T-shirts and mail shots enquiring whether they’ve ‘got’ just about everything under the sun. Choice examples include ‘Got Firewall?’, ‘Got Vote?’, ‘Got Water?’, ‘Got Jesus?’ (popular as a bumper sticker), ‘Got Elk?’ and ‘Got Parking?’ (as used by the town of Castle Rock in an official mailing).