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Lafayette American set out to address the decline of monarch butterflies, who depend on milkweed as sustenance during their migration. Despite being essential to monarch survival, milkweed is often avoided in gardens. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service emphatically states that milkweed is not technically a weed. And yet it’s called a “weed”, which makes it tough for people to imagine wanting to plant it in their yard or garden. Because who wants to plant a weed?
To change this perception of milkweed, Lafayette American set out to launch a campaign to rename the plant, believing a more appealing name will encourage people to plant it and help restore monarch habitats.
The initiative taps into growing environmental awareness, using strategic creative and marketing to engage the public. An interactive website allows people to vote on or suggest new names, while highlighting monarch migration paths to underscore the importance of milkweed across the U.S. and Canada.
Lafayette American hopes this effort will inspire broader participation in creating a monarch-friendly “Superhighway” of habitats, combining creativity and collaboration to tackle environmental challenges. This is the second year of the initiative.
To engage the public, Lafayette American mailed out beautifully designed seed packets with milkweed seeds, encouraging people to plant milkweed across the eastern U.S. to support the butterfly migration.
The campaign also includes an interactive website (created in partnership with Echo Charlie), ButterflySuperhighway.com, where users can vote on new names for milkweed, such as "Monarch Muffin" or "Milky Way," or suggest their own. This rebranding effort addresses the negative connotation of the word "weed," which discourages people from planting it.
Additionally, the website features an interactive map that tracks the monarchs’ migration from Mexico to Canada, showcasing the challenging and varied journey these butterflies face. This visual storytelling helps viewers better understand the importance of creating a network of milkweed habitats to support their survival.
Through this initiative, the goal is to inspire collective action and build a “Superhighway” of monarch-friendly habitats across the U.S.
The votes for new names have been rolling in, and we’re keeping up the momentum on Milkweed’s rebrand. Keep an eye on ButterflySuperhighway.com
