This 1921 ad works for me. I’m not a fan of evaporated milk, but I’m already trying to think of recipes that call for evaporated milk – pumpkin pie . . . what else? According to Wikipedia, Carnation first used the milk “from contented cows” slogan in 1907 – and continued to use it for many decides.
A Hundred Years Ago 
Happy cows seem to show up in current ads, also. Blue Bell ice cream always advertised their cow were content.
Automatic Gardener had the same thought I did. According to Blue Bell, their ice cream is so good because their cows think that Brenham (the home of the dairy) is heaven. Here’s an ad from 1985. They still carry on the theme in a variety of ways. And, no — apart from pumpkin pie, I can’t think of a way I’ve used evaporated milk.
Apparently, it can be used in many recipes, as a replacement for cream or milk.
I know it has a lot of uses, but right now all I can think of is my mom’s fudge. I remember ads with California cows who were supposed to be very happy, but I can’t remember what they were advertising. I do wonder how well the cute and catchy ads do at actually getting people to buy the product.
My mother-in-law always used it for mac-n-cheese.
I liked seeing this old ad, Sheryl, and interesting that the packaging hasn’t changed a bit. Martha Stewart has created many recipes with evaporated and condensed milks.
I use it in my curry dishes to make the curry creamy. I also use it with a little vanilla and sugar to make a flavored creamer….
Sausage gravy and biscuits, I use it in the biscuits when I make them and then one can plus two cups of water for the gravy! Pretty damn good, if you ask me.
I remember visiting Carnation Farms near Carnation Washington as a kid. It was a pretty fun excursion.