{{Short description|Television advertisement}} {{Infobox television advert | name = Aaron Burr | image = | image_size = | caption = | client = [[California Milk Processor Board]] | product = Milk | agency = [[Goodby, Silverstein & Partners]] | director = [[Michael Bay]]<ref name=Raine/> | production company = [[Propaganda Films]] | producer = Cindy Epps | starring = {{hlist |[[Sean Whalen]] |[[Rob Paulsen]]}} | music = [[Jonathan Elias]] | released = October 29, 1993<ref name=MacLeod1/> | runtime = 1:00 | country = [[United States]] | language = English }} "'''Aaron Burr'''" is a television advertisement for [[milk]], created in 1993. Directed by [[Michael Bay]] and starring [[Sean Whalen]], it was the first commercial in the "[[Got Milk?]]" advertising campaign.<ref name=Oxoby/> The ad depicts a history buff, portrayed by Whalen, who is unable to audibly voice the answer of a $10,000 radio contest question because he runs out of milk to wash out the [[peanut butter and jelly sandwich|peanut butter sandwich]] stuck in his mouth. Its title refers to the [[Aaron Burr|American politician]], the answer to the question.
==Synopsis== The ad takes place in a warehouse turned into a private museum or shrine, housing a history buff's ([[Sean Whalen]]) collection of artifacts revolving around the [[Burr–Hamilton duel]]. The hapless history buff spreads [[peanut butter]] on a piece of bread while listening to [[classical music]] on the radio. At the end of the music, the radio host (voiced by [[Rob Paulsen]]) announces a $10,000 contest in which he will make a random call and ask the question, "Who shot [[Alexander Hamilton]] in that famous duel?" The man bites off half his folded sandwich in a single mouthful and knowingly looks around his museum, hearing the gunshot as he looks at the guns used in the duel.
The history buff's phone rings, and he interrupts the announcer mid-question, answering correctly by naming [[Aaron Burr]]. However, because of the [[peanut butter and jelly sandwich|peanut butter sandwich]] in his mouth, his answer is unintelligible. He quickly tries to wash the sandwich down with some [[milk]], but as he goes to pour a glass, he is horrified to discover that his milk carton has only a drop left. With only a few seconds left, he tries to say the answer again, but the announcer is unable to understand him, and hangs up. The history buff stares sadly at his phone, whispering "Aaron Burr...!"
The ad fades out with a baritone voiceover asking "got milk?" as the tagline appears onscreen.<ref name=Daddona/>
==Production== The commercial was created by advertising agency [[Goodby, Silverstein & Partners]], and initially ran in October 1993 as the first ad in the "[[Got Milk?]]" advertising campaign.
It was directed by [[Michael Bay]], then a recent film graduate of the [[Art Center College of Design]],<ref name=Daddona/> through [[Propaganda Films]].<ref name=MacLeod1/> Bay directed ''[[Bad Boys (1995 film)|Bad Boys]]'', his first feature film, the following year, and quickly became well-known as a commercially successful film director.<ref name=Wilson/> According to [[Jeff Goodby]], it was Bay who made the ad "visually unforgettable" with "the idea of having this guy live in a warehouse or whatever", resulting in a "mixture of history and weirdness" that was both memorable and funny.<ref name=Daddona/>
The ad was produced by Cindy Epps, and its [[director of photography]] was Mark Plummer.<ref name=AdAge/> It was edited by Tom Muldoon, and its music was composed by [[Jonathan Elias]].<ref name=MacLeod1/>
==Reception== In 1995, at the [[47th Directors Guild of America Awards]], Bay won the [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Commercials|Award for Outstanding Directing in Commercials]] for the ad, as well as for "Vending Machine" and "Baby and Cat" (also part of the California Milk campaign), "Big Lawyer Round-Up" for [[Miller Lite]], and "Deion Sanders" for [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.dga.org/News/PressReleases/1995/0311-47th-Annual-DGA-Award-Winners|title=47th Annual DGA Award Winners|work=[[Directors Guild of America]]|date=March 11, 1995|access-date=October 12, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-03-13-ca-42258-story.html|title=Nice Box of Chocolates for Zemeckis : Awards: Directors Guild tribute to 'Forrest Gump' director moves him to the front of the line in Oscar race.|last=Welkos|first=Robert W.|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=March 13, 1995|access-date=October 12, 2025}}</ref>
''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', in a 1997 list, named "Aaron Burr" as the 11th best commercial of all time.<ref name=Snetiker/> The ad appeared in the 1999 ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' VHS compilation ''Laugh? I Thought I'd Die!''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Got Milk: Aaron Burr (TV Special 1993) - Connections |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11163684/movieconnections/ |website=IMDb |access-date=30 July 2023}}</ref> In 2002, it was named one of the ten best commercials of all time by a ''[[USA Today]]'' poll.<ref name=Raine/>
In 2002, nine years after its initial run, the "Aaron Burr" ad ran again in a nationwide television campaign, which was considered a rarity in the advertising industry.<ref name=Raine/> At the 2009 [[Clio Awards]] ceremony, the ad was inducted into the Clio Awards Hall of Fame.<ref name=MacLeod2/><ref name=AdForum/>
The ad was praised by ''[[Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company]]'' in 2018 as "an ad-world cultural touchstone... bold, original, never before attempted, and never successfully remastered."<ref name=Daddona/>
== In popular culture == In the years that followed the airing of the "Aaron Burr" advertisement, [[parody|parodies]] appeared in several television series and other media:
* In 2002, the ad's premise was parodied in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Jaws Wired Shut]]", where character [[Homer Simpson]] knows the answer to a trivia question that would win him free beer for life, but is unable to give the answer because his jaws are wired shut.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}} * A parody of the ad was used as a [[Bumper (broadcasting)|bumper]] on the [[Sirius XM Holdings|Sirius XM]] [[satellite radio]] station ''[['90s on 9]]''. * The ''[[Good Eats]]'' episode "Celeryman", which aired in June 2008 on the [[Food Network]], included a parody in which [[Alton Brown]] used peanut butter on celery, rather than bread.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}} * In a sketch on ''[[The Bozo Super Sunday Show]]'' parodying the ad, [[Bozo the Clown]] was unable to win a new bicycle from a radio station because his peanut butter and jelly sandwich rendered him unintelligible.{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}} * In 2015, the producers of the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical ''[[Hamilton (musical)|Hamilton]]'' recreated the commercial in a nearly [[shot-for-shot]] parody, with the history buff played by [[Leslie Odom Jr.]], who originated the role of Burr in ''Hamilton''.<ref name=Snetiker/><ref name=Ham/> * In Season 10 Episode 46 of ''[[Nostalgia Critic]]'', entitled "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my2477WF30c War of the Commercials]", when the Nostalgia Critic discovers that the Aaron Burr milk commercial was directed by [[Michael Bay]], there is a cut to a sketch of a version of the commercial that is a parody of Michael Bay's modern directing style. The question used is "Who wrote the legend of [[King Arthur]]" instead of "Who shot [[Alexander Hamilton]]." * The commercial was a clue in the 2020 ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' special, ''[[Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time]]''. When contestant [[Brad Rutter]] answered, he said the name "Aaron Burr" in a muffled, unintelligible tone similar to that of the commercial.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.j-archive.com/showgameresponses.php?game_id=6527 | title=J! Archive - Responses for the Greatest of All Time game #8, aired 2020-01-14 | date=15 January 2020 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name=AdAge>{{cite web|url=https://adage.com/creativity/work/aaron-burr/7231|title=California Milk Processor Board: Aaron Burr|work=[[AdAge]]|date=March 12, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129223856/https://adage.com/creativity/work/aaron-burr/7231|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 29, 2020|access-date=June 10, 2021}}</ref> <ref name=AdForum>{{cite web |title=CLIO Awards 2009 Winners Archive |website=Ad Forum |year=2009 |url=https://www.adforum.com/award-organization/6650176/showcase/2009/winners |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726163000/https://www.adforum.com/award-organization/6650176/showcase/2009/winners |archivedate=2018-07-26 }}</ref> <ref name=Daddona>{{cite journal |first=Matthew |last=Daddona |title=Got Milk? How the iconic campaign came to be, 25 years ago |journal=Fast Company |date=June 13, 2018 |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/40556502/got-milk-how-the-iconic-campaign-came-to-be-25-years-ago |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615173358/https://www.fastcompany.com/40556502/got-milk-how-the-iconic-campaign-came-to-be-25-years-ago |archivedate=2018-06-15 }}</ref> <ref name=Ham>{{cite AV media |title=Got Hamilton? Parody Commercial |author=''Hamilton: An American Musical'' channel |date=June 2, 2015 |publisher=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-KoAi3Nl9Q |accessdate=2015-12-31 }}</ref> <ref name=MacLeod1>{{cite web |first=Duncan |last=MacLeod |title=Aaron Burr Got Milk |date=May 15, 2009 |work=The Inspiration Room|url=http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/aaron-burr-got-milk/ |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710165119/http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/aaron-burr-got-milk/ |archivedate=2018-07-10 }}</ref> <ref name=MacLeod2>{{cite web |first=Duncan |last=MacLeod |title=Clio TV and Cinema Awards for 2009 |date=May 16, 2009 |url=http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/clio-tv-and-cinema-awards-for-2009/ |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005054922/http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/clio-tv-and-cinema-awards-for-2009/ |archivedate=2017-10-05 }}</ref> <ref name=Oxoby>{{cite book |last=Oxoby |first=Marc |title=The 1990s |url={{Google books|vCgM4VYsph8C|page=50|plainurl=y}} |year=2003 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-31615-9 |page=50 }}</ref> <ref name=Raine>{{cite news |last=Raine |first=George |title=Popular 'Got Milk?' ad to return / Recycling of 'Aaron Burr' is unusual among TV commercials |date=July 9, 2002 |newspaper=The San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Popular-Got-Milk-ad-to-return-Recycling-of-2798935.php |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305000902/http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Popular-Got-Milk-ad-to-return-Recycling-of-2798935.php |archivedate=2016-03-05 }}</ref> <ref name=Snetiker>{{cite magazine |first=Marc |last=Snetiker |title=Aaron Burr of Broadway's ''Hamilton'' recreates that famous "Got Milk?" commercial |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=May 20, 2015 |url=http://ew.com/article/2015/05/20/hamiltons-aaron-burr-recreates-famous-got-milk-commercial/ |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217032041/http://ew.com/article/2015/05/20/hamiltons-aaron-burr-recreates-famous-got-milk-commercial/ |archivedate=2017-12-17 |access-date=2018-07-26 }}</ref> <ref name=Wilson>{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Stephanie |title=Behind the Camera |work=Haute Living |publisher=Seth Semilof |date=September 5, 2008 |url=http://www.hauteliving.com/2008/09/behind-the-camera-%60/ |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005043649/http://www.hauteliving.com/2008/09/behind-the-camera-%60/ |archivedate=2011-10-05 }}</ref> }} {{Michael Bay}}
[[Category:1993 in American television]] [[Category:1993 works]] [[Category:1990s television advertisements]] [[Category:Aaron Burr|Advertisement]] [[Category:American television advertisements]] [[Category:Milk in culture]] [[Category:Works by Michael Bay]]