Is Milk & Pepsi Seriously Making a Comeback? Here’s a Little History
Some of you may not be old enough to remember this, but there was a time when--I'm assuming--millions of people took, at least, a sip of the non-alcoholic concoction simply known as "milk & Pepsi."
It's not because we were under some massive cult-like spell and walked like robots to the refrigerator to pour ourselves a glass of this very bizarre concoction. Well, maybe I should take a little of that back. When a TV series like Laverne & Shirley is such a massive hit with the kind of enormous nationwide audience it had, maybe "spell" isn't so strong a word. "If Laverne liked it, maybe we should try it, too" could've been an unspoken mantra at the time.
At its peak, the wildly popular ABC sitcom had an average audience of more than 23 million viewers. That was the 1977-1978 season, in which it finished number one. So if the main character's favorite drink was something weird that no one had ever tried before like milk & Pepsi, it made sense that people would give it a shot. My sister and I did; we both thought it was vile--just a sickeningly sweet beverage that's hard to describe because the flavor wasn't comparable to anything else we'd ever tasted. It was really unpleasant. And it's not because we got the ratio wrong; Trippy Food on YouTube has confirmed that.
He liked it. Good for him. He'll be happy to know that it's trying to make a comeback...and the celebrity pushing for the comeback is on the comeback trail, herself.
Sure enough, Lindsay Lohan is part of a new holiday Pepsi campaign suggesting we try its iconic beverage with milk. What's funny to me is that they are assuming this has never been a thing before. In fact, a new phrase has emerged.."Pilk & cookies." Yes, Grammarly just sent up the red flag, so I had to add it to my dictionary.
Yes, Pilk & cookies. Penny Marshall--the late actress and director who portrayed Laverne--is smiling somewhere. But would she be the only one?
Sounds to me like the reviews are decidedly mixed among the Today Show talking heads. And I have to disagree. While I don't care for root beer, I do love root beer floats. And milk & Pepsi, or Pilk, isn't comparable.
Now, a Pepsi FLOAT? Absolutely. I don't drink sodas, but I will "break over," as my dad used to say, when it comes to a Pepsi or Coke float.
I will not, however, "break over" for Pilk. I'll have the egg nog, instead...and I HATE egg nog.