Borden fans are about to be over the moon with excitement. Tony Sarsam, CEO at Borden, promises that a preview of Elsie\u2019s new look is coming later in Q1 (by the end of March 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While we wait for Elsie\u2019s modern debut, let\u2019s take a look back at her udderly unique dairy history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What product did Borden Dairy initially offer the public? Condensed milk. Founder Gail Borden patented his condensed milk in 1856. This was after three years of product refinement and five years after a fateful voyage where Borden witnessed children drinking contaminated milk and perishing on a ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Borden passed away in 1874, decades before Elsie was created. By the 1930s, price wars were raging between farmers and dairy processors. The highly publicized competition portrayed larger dairy companies in an unfavorable light. Borden swiftly took action to create the cartoon Elsie, a friendly cow mom. Elsie added a welcoming face to the Borden brand, making the company approachable to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Borden advertised the earliest Elsie ads in medical journals. Elsie, along with cartoon cow gal pals Mrs. Blossom, Bessie, and Clara, was featured in advertisements with cows and calves speaking in milk barns. Here\u2019s a look at the typical cow \u2018n calf dialogue:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Calf: \u201cMama, I think I see a germ!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cow: \u201cMercy, child \u2013 run quick for the Borden Inspector!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doctors loved the advertisements. While doctors requested reprints from Borden to hang up in office waiting rooms, Borden tested ads in newspapers throughout New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The company also sponsored network news commentator Rush Hughes in 1938. A radio copywriter had been intrigued by the medical journal ads that the copywriter prepared a commercial for Hughes. One line even read as \u201c\u2019Dear Mama: I\u2019m so excited I can hardly chew. We girls are sending our milk to Borden\u2019s now! Love, Elsie.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The commercial delighted Hughes so much that he read it himself on air. Listeners loved it. They began sending in fan mail, but there was one catch. The mail was addressed to Elsie, not Hughes. Elsie\u2019s popularity had taken off. She was officially Borden\u2019s spokescow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A real cow did not inspire Elsie, but a live Elsie was born at the 1939 World\u2019s Fair. Borden had planned to host an exhibit, where the company would debut a futuristic rotolactor milking machine. The rotolactor was designed as a merry-go-round milking machine with live cows on its top. Elsie would be part of the exhibit, but she would not be the focal point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Borden realized that it was time to produce a real Elsie to the crowds. 150 cows were sent to the World\u2019s Fair from New Jersey to participate in the rotolactor. One cow, a seven-year-old from Massachusetts by the name \u201cYou\u2019ll Do Lobelia,\u201d felt the most like Elsie. She had personality and made eye contact. Millions saw You\u2019ll Do Lobelia, as Elsie, dressed in an embroidered green blanket on top of Borden\u2019s rotolactor!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just four years after Elsie debuted, Elmer the Bull was created in 1940. He was lent to Borden\u2019s then-chemical division to act as the official spokescow for Elmer\u2019s Glue.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"elsie_cow_borden_3\"](\"https:\/\/popicon.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/elsie_cow_borden_3.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nElsie\u2019s Creation In 1936<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Elsie\u2019s Early Advertising<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"elsie_cow_borden\"](\"https:\/\/popicon.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/elsie_cow_borden.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDid A Real Cow Inspire Elsie?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"elsie_cow_borden_2\"](\"https:\/\/popicon.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/elsie_cow_borden_2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nRelationship With Elmer The Bull<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n