'Yogurt Is Fun,' According to This Incredible 1962 Advertorial Explaining Yogurt 

By Kelly Faircloth  |  August 16, 2017 | 6:15pm
In Depth

It seems impossible given the utter culinary dominance of yogurt, which currently appears in everything from popsicles to baby food, but once upon a time, Dannon was pleading with America to just give it a try and promising it was super fun it eat.

Dannon ran an advertisement in the October 24, 1962 issue of the New York Times—coincidentally, in the thick of the Cuban Missile Crisis—asking readers why they had never tried yogurt. Really, though, the ad implicitly answers the question: Because people thought it was a diet food and were also vaguely terrified by the stuff. Of course, people had been eating yogurt in one form or another for literally thousands of years. But not postwar America, land of processed foods and chain smokers. No sir!

Hence, Dannon had to patiently, painstakingly walk potential customers through not just the possibility of eating yogurt, but the process itself.

The fact is, most people eat Dannon Yogurt for one simple reason—they like it. Yogurt is fun, aside from low calories, easy digestion, nutrition value and such.
Now maybe you don’t know what yogurt is. Not that it matters. But if anybody asks you, Dannon Yogurt is a cultured milk food you eat with a spoon right from the cup. We make it from fresh pasteurized homogenized cow’s milk. In the processing we take out half the butterfat, which gets rid of considerable calories. Then we add lots of protein, vitamins and minerals and of course famous Dannon Yogurt cultures.

Who is enjoying all this Dannon Yogurt so much? Why—everyone! “Suburbanites, cityites and celebrities. Doctors and sport stars, teenagers, and business executives. Yogurt is for everyone with a young viewpoint.” Just in case you, despite your “young viewpoint,” still aren’t sure how to eat yogurt and need just a little more hand holding: “How and when can you eat Dannon Yogurt? Anytime you have a hankering for a light and bright snack or a really satisfying dessert.” Or lunch. Or at bedtime.

Just give it a try! Please! Seriously!

And now here we are, 55 years later, working on another nuclear standoff—and now women eat yogurt.

 
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