Elsie the Borden Cow: Milk’s Marketing Miracle
Elsie the Borden Cow, depicted in a circa 1961 recipe booklet. Note her maternal apron and ever-present necklace of flowers. / Detail, THF296067
Mascots appear on so many of the products we see in advertisements or while shopping, it can be easy to look right past them. Or we might seek out our favorites — characters we love so much, they’ve secured our allegiance to particular brands. With names and backstories, these mascots can seem at once familiar and absurd. Why do companies invest so much in developing them? Because, under the right circumstances — as with Elsie the Borden Cow — mascots can resonate deeply with consumers, boosting sales and generating brand loyalty.
Introducing Elsie
The dairy industry was plagued by “milk problems” in the 1930s. As demand for milk plummeted during the Great Depression, new dairying technologies led to a surge in production, which lowered milk prices and threatened small dairy farmers who couldn’t afford to upgrade their equipment. Consumers could hardly ignore dairy farmers’ public and highly politicized fight for fair prices. A series of organized strikes tarnished the reputation of major milk companies and left them desperate for good publicity.
The Borden Company, which had found success selling condensed milk in the mid-1800s, was, by the 1930s, one of the top American milk companies. Ahead of the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair, where Borden planned to demonstrate a high-tech, carousel-style mechanical milking contraption called the Rotolactor, the company needed a marketing miracle. Borden faced the challenge of not only earning the trust of consumers who were already questioning big milk brands in the wake of recent "milk problems,” but of convincing them that the milk of modern agribusiness, extracted in mass quantities with fancy scientific equipment, was preferable to milk from more familiar, if idealized, small dairy farms.
Elsie arrives at the New York World’s Fair; detail from Borden advertisement in Life magazine for June 5, 1939. / Photo by Saige Jedele
Enter Elsie. Illustrations of this happy dairy cow with kind features and a necklace of flowers first appeared in Borden advertisements in 1936. When Elsie was featured in a radio commercial in 1938, fan mail started pouring in. Elsie resonated with consumers, and Borden decided to play up her rural, comforting image to promote its pavilion at the World’s Fair. She appeared in magazine advertisements, brochures, on postcards and in the fair’s official guidebook — all part of the company’s efforts to soften fairgoers’ introduction to the Rotolactor and, more broadly, assuage Americans’ concerns about revolutionary changes in the dairy industry.
Elsie Comes to Life
The advertising campaign was a huge success. Fairgoers rushed to the Borden Pavilion to get a glimpse of Elsie (who existed at this point only as a cartoon). Workers at the fair reported that 20 percent of visitors were curious about the Rotolactor, 20 percent asked for directions to the restroom and 60 percent wanted to know which of the 150 cows Borden displayed at its pavilion was Elsie. So, by popular demand, the company selected a cow with a calm demeaner and photogenic features, renamed her Elsie, gave her a flower necklace and special blanket and sent her out twice a day for solo spins aboard the Rotolactor. Elsie was such a draw that the following year, Borden constructed a custom “boudoir” for her in a playful barnyard aesthetic. She stole the show, attracting more visitors than any other exhibit at the fair.
The 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair, combined with Borden’s national advertising campaign, skyrocketed Elsie to widespread fame. Marketing surveys in the 1940s revealed that 98 percent of Americans recognized her. Elsie (played by several cows) began traveling the country with a portable boudoir. She sold war bonds during World War II, visited children’s hospitals, “hosted” public receptions and was bestowed with gifts and honors wherever she went. Elsie even appeared on Broadway and in a Hollywood film, drumming up invaluable publicity for Borden products.
Postcard depicting Elsie, her "husband" Elmer and their son, Beauregard, “traveling representatives of Borden's family of fine foods,” in their portable boudoir, 1947-1957. / THF705094
Borden wasted little time making Elsie into a housewife and mother, marrying her to a bull named Elmer (who would become the face of Borden’s line of adhesives and namesake of Elmer’s glue) and giving the couple several “children.” The gimmick was impactful — a 1947 contest to name one of Elsie’s calves attracted a record-setting 1 million entries. (The winning entry? Beauregard.) Advertisements and product packaging depicting Elsie in this gendered, stereotypical role, complete with a ruffly apron, helped sell the idea that Borden dairy products were wholesome and appropriate for American families.
Elsie remained so popular that Borden made her the feature of its exhibit at the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. A musical revue paid tribute to the company’s famous “spokes-cow,” who was yet again on display in a custom boudoir.
Elsie the Borden Cow souvenir ring from the 1964-1965 World’s Fair. / 2014.89.3, Photo by Saige Jedele
Elsie Endures
Elsie gradually faded from Borden advertisements, and a corporate rebrand in the late 1960s threatened to retire her. But a national survey confirmed that Elsie was still well-known and well-loved by consumers who remembered her from childhood. Elsie reemerged on product packaging, starred in television commercials and made regular public appearances again in the 1970s. She was revived yet again when Borden sales sagged in the 1990s, and in 1999, Ad Age recognized Elsie as one of the top 10 advertising icons of the 20th century.
Elsie as the ultimate hostess on the cover of a circa 1985 book of recipes featuring Borden dairy products. / THF296237
Elsie endured well into the 21st century, even as the Borden brand repeatedly changed hands. After a brand refresh in 2019, Borden's then-chief marketing officer’s remarks echoed the past: “Our research showed that Elsie represents pure joy and optimism for American families.” As of 2023, Elsie appeared on both Borden-branded products and licensed merchandise designed to appeal to a new generation of fans.
Part of the power of Elsie’s image, like that of other iconic food brand mascots, is that it disconnects the business of agriculture — with its often confusing (if not concerning) processes, policies, and profits — from the products on store shelves. More than just a “spokes-cow,” Elsie helps us see more clearly the important role consumers play in what they’re sold and how it’s marketed.
Saige Jedele, associate curator at The Henry Ford, looked forward to spotting Elsie on products in the dairy aisle during childhood trips to the grocery store. For deeper analysis, she recommends Ann Thompson Hajdik’s “A ‘Bovine Glamour Girl’: Borden Milk, Elsie the Cow, and the Convergence of Technology, Animals, and Gender at the 1939 World’s Fair," published in Agricultural History, Vol. 88, No. 4 (Fall 2014).
