If you have cracked open a magazine or driven past a billboard within the past 15 years, then it is safe to say you have seen that iconic ad of a celebrity holding a glass, sporting a white moustache, and posing next to that perpetual question: Got Milk? Originally appearing as a television commercial in October 1993, the ad has had the same message for years: drink more milk to lead a healthier life. But what is it really trying to say? Is it possible that in today’s multi-million dollar world of advertisement, money is being spent to bring in top celebrities to do a public service announcement?

While flipping through my latest issue of ESPN Magazine, I came across an advertisement that actually got my attention. Not because it had flashy colors, a funny phrase or semi-nude girls smiling at me, but because it was an ad I was familiar with. It was an ad I had practically grown up with. I had seen them as a child in my school cafeteria and at the doctor’s office. And every ad was the same. A well known actor, athlete, or fictional character posing with a white milk mustache, accompanied by the phrase Body by Milk, and a small paragraph describing why they, and more importantly, you should drink milk. This particular ad features the lovely and talented Danica Patrick. She is lovely for being voted sexiest athlete in Victoria’s Secret “What is Sexy” list, and she is talented for becoming the first woman to win an Indy car race. That covers quite a large demographic of people that may potentially see this ad and, due to Danica’s endorsement, drink more milk.

Women who see the ad think “I want to have that body.” Men who see the ad think “I want to have that body.” And what a body it is. A leather one-piece driver’s suit that clings to the curvature of her body displays the liaison between her beauty and talent. But the picture captures more than just a beautiful woman in a leather suit. Every detail of the image is designed to provoke emotion. Her stance is choreographed to display that classic hourglass figure that only women like Barbie and Wonder Woman possess. Even the color in her appearance is deliberate. She is clad in black leather; however, a lavender tent is cast across her suit and hair. Why lavender? Perhaps because the color lavender is considered a feminine color, which adds a hint of softness. Or perhaps it is because women are beautiful and delicate like a lavender flower.

But enough of this soft woman talk, what about who Danica Patrick represents to women and how this is projected through this ad. Danica Patrick is a woman competing in a male dominated sport, Indy car racing. There are other women competing in the same sport, but none have made as large an impact as Danica Patrick. Men in the sport have questioned her ability and amount of publicity, but that was before she won a race. That is when she truly emerged as female icon, representing another field that women have claimed as equal ground. And yet all the while she has maintained her persona as a gorgeous woman who is in control. Her appearance in this ad is very sexy, but not debasing in any way. She is fully clothed and what part of her could be scandalous, her unzipped top that would reveal cleavage, is covered by a white undershirt. Her facial expression radiates seductiveness with a hint of “stay out my way.” Even her nails show her balance of strong and sexy, for she has short cut, manly nails, and yet they are still painted. Milk white to be exact.

Now advertisers know that we as Americans are self-conscience about our appearance, which is why they give us the secret to obtaining this rocking body that Danica Patrick possess: body by milk. It’s that simple. We are to believe that simply drinking milk will help us achieve the beach body we all secretly desire. But I don’t think America is convinced quite yet. We need a reason or support as to why I should drink milk. This advertisement has a solution to that too. A small paragraph, written in of course, white, is written as if it were a quotation from Danica herself. “How do I stay on track? Milk.” Well I’m convinced! But others may be thirsty for more detail.

How will milk make us healthier? Sure it’s our first form of nourishment when we are brought into this world, but milk is for kids. Danica disagrees. Danica describes to us how milk’s protein helps build muscle and its unique mix of nutrients help her refuel after a workout. So if a top level athlete drinks milk, maybe it is healthy. But milk is more a relic of our childhood than a daily delicacy. Milk’s solution: insert celebrity here. We have become a culture fascinated with celebrities and advertisement agencies know fully well how powerful a celebrity endorsement is for a product. Milk processors who distribute these ads are banking on the fact that we will be a sucker for a beautiful celeb in a tight leather suit.

So does the advertisement work? Yes! It has made me thirsty and apparently millions of other people as well. Milk sales skyrocketed after the release of Got Milk? ads and rightfully so. The ad entices you from all angles; sports, sex, and health. But what most impressed me was the product itself. It is not some new expensive and unnecessary item that million dollar corporations are trying to get us to buy; it’s a product we have grown up with, being advertised by all milk processors and dairy farmers, big and small. A product we probably already have in our refrigerator, but never use as a drink. It’s a product we already know and trust, just shown in a new light. So will drinking milk make us healthier? I think we all already know the answer to that.

Tags: advertising, celebrities, Danica Patrick, sports