Grandma Went Viral for NSFW Carnation Milk Jingle — and Then Company Made Merch to Fix Her Sidewalk

The family had no idea what was in store when they first posted a video on TikTok of their 96-year-old mom reciting the old Carnation Milk jingle from the 1940s.

Helen Ernst, of Bloomfield, Iowa, was at home with her daughters when, realizing she had their undivided attention, she began making a risky jingle while holding a can of the popular evaporated milk. One of her daughters rushed to capture the moment on video.

“I don’t swear and it shocked them to death,” Ernst tells PEOPLE.

The clip opens with Ernst holding a can of milk saying, “Carnation milk, the best in the land/Comes in a can with a red and white ribbon.” But her daughters — and thousands on TikTok — were next. “No t— to pull, no hay to throw/Just poke two holes in the son of a bitch—-,” she adds.

After it was released in November, the fun and cute clip went viral, prompting the company to reach out and even launch its own Grandma Helen merchandise.

“That was a surprise,” jokes Ernest. “I thank Carnation for that. Who would have thought that they would sponsor me at the age of 96?”

Helen Ernst, called ‘Grandma Helen’.

Carnation

Meghan Bhatia, brand manager for Carnation, which is part of Nestlé, tells PEOPLE that the jingle, which is real, dates back to the 1940s and was submitted as part of a company-sponsored contest.

“It’s part of Carnation’s lore,” says Bhatia. “The CEO at the time just thought this entry was so funny and charming that he gave a cash prize to the woman who sent it in, even though she didn’t end up being chosen as the winner of the jingle contest.”

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While many TikTok users were charmed by the jingle, others were offended. But daughter Allison Wroe says they just didn’t understand the context, which Ernst, who grew up on a small dairy farm, fully understands.

“They didn’t even know what ‘hay to pitch’ was,” Wroe tells PEOPLE. As for the other word that makes her look up, she says her mom explained it by saying, “‘Well, there’s an udder and teats on that udder, and you’re pulling the teats to milk the cow.'”

“It takes talent,” adds Ernst. “At that time there were no automatic feeders. The hay was kept in the dovecote. We had pitchforks and you had to lower the hay from the dovecote to the cattle.”

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After the post blew up, Wroe says her mom was “a little taken aback.”

“I said, ‘Mom, you’ve gone viral.’ And then she said, ‘Oh. That doesn’t sound healthy,’ Wroe recalls. – She didn’t know that expression.

But Ernst says she was “so excited” to read “some of the remarks” people made on social media. “Everything was beautiful,” she adds.

In addition, daughter Shelly Bassett says her mother was “called by friends and relatives she hadn’t spoken to in a while,” which Ernst “really enjoyed.”

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When the popular TikTok first reached out to Carnation, the company contacted Ernst’s family through social media. They immediately offered her a $5,000 check, sponsored her family’s Thanksgiving dinner, and flew her grandchildren in for the holidays.

“We started building a relationship with them,” says Bhatia. “That whole family inspired us to want to do more, so it just kept going.”

Grandma Helen swag.

Carnation

After learning that Ernst planned to use the $5,000 check to repair the sidewalk in front of her house, the company came up with a better idea.

“We said, ‘Why don’t we release Grand Helen’s merchandise, but then give all the proceeds to Mrs. Helen for her sidewalk,'” Bhatia says. (The merchandise is currently available for mobile purchase in Carnation Milk’s TikTok store.)

“It’s really exciting. So nice of them,” says Ernst.

As of now, Bhatia says they’ve already been able to help repair the sidewalk, adding that they “look forward to giving even more with future merchandise sales.”

With the sidewalk repaired, Ernst says she can now “walk to the beauty salon, I can walk to the drug store and not have to worry about stubbing my toe and falling.”

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More than money or viral fame, the family says the TikTok video is a tribute to Ernst.

According to Wroe, her mother was the youngest in a rather large family and was raised on a farm. During her life, she welcomed five children, survived three husbands and even served on the local city council. “She was always busy, lively and witty. So to see this, it’s just cool,” adds her loving daughter.

Teasing what her next act will be. Ernst jokes, “You never know what I might do.”

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Source: HIS Education