It’s 1993, Michael Bay is still two years away from directing his first feature film, Bad Boys. He’s known as one of the best video directors in the business, having directed iconic media like a Vanilla Ice music video and the September 1990 Playboy video centerfold.
He then gets his first crack at the big time, directing an ad for the California Milk Processor Board, or “Big Milk” as their known in most industry circles. The ad lacks Bay’s classic mise en scene of explosions or Optimus Prime driving on a bridge in Shanghai, but is still worth a watch.
It’s a genuinely funny idea, executed with a touch more cinematic style than most advertisements, and then it introduces arguably the most iconic commercial tagline in history. It’s hard to imagine any other Bay directed project having the cultural and historical impact this ad campaign has. The only movie that comes close is probably 6 Underground, now streaming on Netflix.com.
Way to go Mike!