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

Helen Ernst become an online sensation after reciting a risqué-sounding jingle from the 1940s about Carnation Milk

A family had no idea what was in store when they first posted a TikTok video of their 96-year-old mom reciting an 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 launched into a risqué-sounding 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 just shocked them to death," Ernst tells PEOPLE.

The clip begins with Ernst holding the milk can and saying: “Carnation Milk, the best in the land/Comes in a tin with a red and white band." But it was the next lines that had her daughters  — and thousands on TikTok — beside themselves. "No t--- to pull, no hay to pitch/Just punch two holes in the son of a b----," she adds.

After being posted in November, the amusing and endearing clip went viral, which prompted the company to reach out and even launch their own Grandma Helen merchandise.

“That was a surprise,” Ernest quips. “I thank Carnation for it. Who'd ever think they'd sponsor me at age 96?"

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 the Carnation lore,” Bhatia says. “The CEO at the time just thought that this submission was so hilarious and charming that he gave the prize money to the woman who submitted this, even though they didn't end up choosing her as the winner of the jingle contest."

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Although 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 was raised on a small dairy farm, has a full understanding of.

“They didn't even know what 'hay to pitch' was," Wroe tells PEOPLE. As for the other eye-raising line, she says her mom explained it by saying, "'Well, there's an udder and there are teats on the udder, and you pull the teats to milk the cow.'"

"It takes talent to do that," Ernst adds. "There were no automatic feeders at that time. And the hay was kept in a loft. We had a pitchfork and you had to pitch the hay down to the cattle from the loft.”

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

"I said, 'Mom, you went viral.' And that's when she said, 'Oh. That doesn't sound healthy,'" recalls Wroe. "She didn't know the term."

But Ernst says she "got such a kick" out of reading "some of the remarks" people made on social media. "It was all nice," she adds.

Additionally, daughter Shelly Bassett says her mom had "friends and relatives call her that she hasn't talked to for a while," which Ernst has "really enjoyed."

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When the popular TikTok first reached Carnation, the company contacted Ernst's family through social media. They promptly offered her a $5,000 check, sponsored her family's Thanksgiving dinner, and flew in her grandkids for the holiday.

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

After learning that Ernst planned to use the $5,000 check to fix the sidewalk outside her home, the company came up with a better idea.

"We said, 'Why don't we release Granda Helen merchandise, but then give all the proceeds to Ms. Helen for her sidewalk," says Bhatia. (The merchandise is currently available to buy via mobile on Carnation Milk's TikTok shop.)

"It's really exciting. It's so nice of them," Ernst says.

As of now, Bhatia says they've already been able to help fix the sidewalk and adds that they "look forward to giving even more back with future merch sales."

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

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

As Wroe says, her mother was the youngest in a fairly large family and was raised on a farm. Throughout her lifetime she's welcomed five kids, survived three husbands and even served on her local city council. “She's always been busy, spry and funny. So to see this, it's just kind of cool,” adds her loving daughter.

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

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