Smilk (circa 1995-circa 1998): A line of "eXtReMe" fruit-flavored milk beverages marketed to children, available in strawberry, raspberry, orange vanilla, and "Tropicow", a tropical fruit blend. Advertised with a very Poochie-esque cow with attitude and shades, named "Smilkster"
Around 1993/94 there was a lot of buzz and movement in the dairy industry around fruit-flavored milk, owing to the successes of both the "got milk?" campaign and sweet, kid-focused cereals. The thinking was that chocolate milk had become boring, and it was time to shake things up with new flavors
As a kid I got some marketing survey phone call for one of these milks. They asked me how I felt about an ad where a cow's spots turned red after having strawberry milk. I was given a few responses but picked disturbed as it was the most funny. Ruined their research.
Someone with the name Smilkster definitely lets you know of their fetishes.
I don't think younger folks realize that Poochie was pretty tame compared to real mascots of the era.
I can feel the diabetes reaching for me from the distant past.
A school i taught at in the early 2000s had a vending machine that sold weird milk products (*healthy!*). One of them was CARBONATED.
Ooh, orange vanilla sounds rad AF.
I vaguely remember this as a child in the 90s. I remember seeing it at the supermarket and wanting to have some, but my mom wasn't keen on products with too much sugar (probably for the best). Can't say I recall the Smilkster too well.