USA – A report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests that generic advertising for cheese and liquid milk helps sales growth, while brands benefit less from similar exposure.

The USDA said that advertising under the Dairy and Fluid Milk Acts increased sales by 6% over a twelve-year period to 1996, while advertising under the Dairy Act increased national sales of natural and processed cheese by 2.3%.

However, the report suggested that demand for butter and frozen dairy products was almost unaffected by such advertising, while branded advertising appeared to have relatively little impact as it was regarded as being more deceptive than generic advertising.