Dairy Farmers of Ontario Make Milk and Cookies Mean Even More this Holiday Season

For the fifth consecutive year, Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) has donated to SickKids and other Ontario children’s hospitals reaching $2.6M to date, helping to support communities and bring cheer to those spending the holidays in the hospital.

This year, along with Lifelong Crush, DFO is giving even more meaning to a cherished holiday ritual: Santa’s milk and cookies. All kids hope that Santa shows up while they’re dreaming, and for kids in hospital over the holidays, his visit means even more.

So DFO set out to create a milk and cookies innovation that Santa wouldn’t be able to ignore. Introducing the ‘Magic Milk Glass’, combining milk and cookies into a single, magical invention. Children across the province helped create milk glass designs that will be built into a cookie cutter on the bottom of the glass and printed on the side. These magical milk glasses will be given to children spending the holidays in Ontario children's hospitals.

Kids all across Ontario and their parents were invited to submit their Magic Milk Glass drawing design by sharing on Instagram and Facebook, tagging and following @ontariodairy, and using the hashtag #MagicMilkGlass. DFO encouraged kids to get as imaginative as possible when creating their designs for Santa. What will make him smile? What will surprise him? What would make him chuckle and shake his belly like a bowl full of jelly? 

This call to Ontarians to join DFO in spreading joy to those spending the holidays in hospital ran from November 15 until November 28 with @ontariodairy posting to its Instagram and Facebook, along with five influencers across the province, @littlepressco in Ottawa, @faizkham in Toronto, @daniellegraham in Toronto, @makedelicioushappen in London, and @thisfamilytree in Hamilton.

The call for submissions closed Giving Tuesday (November 28), and now DFO will transform the most unique, holiday themed designs into the final Magic Milk Glasses, to be shared with every child spending the holidays in an Ontario children’s hospital as they prepare for Santa’s visit on Christmas Eve.

“Dairy Farmers of Ontario is committed to nourishing communities across Ontario. Through the donation we can support patients and families spending the holidays in Ontario children’s hospitals,” said Alicia Sumar, director of marketing at Dairy Farmers of Ontario. “This year, we also invited Ontarians to join us in the Magic Milk Glass initiative so we can ensure that each child spending this holiday season in hospital experiences the magical ritual of leaving milk and cookies out for Santa, and knows that we are all thinking of them.”

"We were thrilled to work with DFO on such a meaningful project. To bring more holiday cheer to the children who deserve it the most was a joy to do, not to mention a privilege we took very seriously,” added Frank Megna, Associate Creative Director at Lifelong Crush.

“We also loved that the campaign was centred around kids helping kids. It wasn't just our creativity that made this a successful initiative, it was the creativity of children across the province," said Fábio Siqueira, associate creative director at Lifelong Crush.

The ‘Magic Milk Glass’ is part of a fully integrated campaign with OOH, Radio and TV led by sister agency Broken Heart Love Affair, Media strategy and buying by Starcom, PR by Middle Child and influencer initiatives led by strategic partner Hype PR.