Got Milk?

Who would have thought that Amanda Bynes, a butterfly, a painted on mustache, and the word “metamorphosis” could effectively sell milk? This full-page advertisement was placed in the February 2008 edition of Cosmo Girl. As so, it is clearly trying to appeal to an audience of teenagers and convince them to drink milk. Got Milk? is an American advertising campaign encouraging the purchase of cow's milk. It was created by the advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Milk Processor Board in 1993 and later licensed for use by milk processors and dairy farmers. It has been running since October 1993. The campaign is credited with putting life back into milk sales nationwide after a 20-year slump. The slogan "got milk?" was licensed to the National Milk Processor Board (MilkPEP) in 1998 to use on their celebrity print ads, which since 1995, included celebrities from the fields of sports, media and entertainment, as well as fictional characters from TV and film such as The Simpsons and Batman, posing in print advertisements sporting a "milk moustache," employing the slogan, "Where's your mustache?" In order to get more young people to drink milk, this advertisement integrates the rhetorical appeals of logos and ethos, as well as the rhetorical strategies of illustration, analogy, and cause and effect.

The advertisement, seeking to get young girls to drink milk, appeals to ethos through the strategy of illustration. The appeal to character, through the use of illustration, argues that drinking milk is cool. As a celebrity and role model, Amanda Bynes, who is the focus of the advertisement, has the power to influence the decisions of many young, teenage girls. Many young women look up to Amanda and and want to be like her. Thus, it is an effective argument to use illustration to appeal to ethos. If girls think Amanda is cool and want to be like her, seeing Amanda with a milk mustache will make them want to mimic her actions and drink milk as well.

The strategy of analogy is made by the inclusion of the milk mustache. The milk mustache has become an icon of the national “Got Milk?” campaign. This long-existing million dollar campaign has been successful at getting Americans to drink milk. The milk mustache and words “Got Milk,” as icons, cause an analogy to be made to the good will of the creators of this advertisement, as it causes the viewer to associate with the good will of the campaign. The milk mustache and the image of the butterfly on Amanda’s nose also appeals to ethos through analogy. The analogy between the milk mustache and the butterfly is quite apparent, as they are both on Amanda’s face, drawing the conclusion that Amanda has turned into a beautiful betterfly by drinking milk. The combination of Amanda’s face, the milk mustache, and the butterfly work together to form the analogy that makes the inclusion of the word “Metamorphosis” appropriate and effective. Amanda, similar to the butterfly, has gone through metamorphosis since her days on “The Amanda Show.” Amanda has “transformed,” or gone through the metamorphosis from a little girl to a beautiful young woman. Amanda’s metamorphosis can happen to everyone, as seen in the use of the word “teens,” referring to all young men and women. “Grow beautiful, inside and out,” is an analogy between the butterfly, Amanda, and all teens who drink milk. This analogy boosts the good will of the advertisement, as it claims that drinking milk can help teens with their desire to be healthy and appear beautiful, similar to a butterfly or Amanda Bynes.

“Grow beautiful” also appeals to ethos through the strategy of cause and effect. This advertisement uses cause and effect to improve its character. Many teens do not want to drink milk and do not see it as necessary. However, this advertisement puts milk in a better light. It shows that the cause of drinking milk produces the effect of being healthy and having more appealing looks. As many teens value health and looks, the knowledge that milk can help teens to achieve these goals makes drinking milk more appealing. Teenage girls may say that they will try anything that can produce the effect of making them look like Amanda Bynes.

This advertisement, along with appealing to ethos, directly appeals to logos, or logic and reason. Mainly, what the article is arguing is logical. It is important to drink milk, a specific reason being “studies suggest teens who choose milk over sugary drinks tend to be leaner, plus protein helps build strong muscle.” The strategy of cause and effect is clearly being used in this statement to appeal to logos. When considering kairos, or context, it is seen as logical to be lean and muscular because those traits are associated with being healthy. Thus, cause and effect comes into play as the cause of drinking milk has the effect of being lean and muscular.

Also appealing to logos is the use of the word “studies.” In seeing the word “studies” as opposed to “people suggest” gives the advertisement credibility. In the advertisement an analogy is made between “studies” and research, knowledge, and authority. The use of the word “studies” suggests that someone knowledgeable ran tests and gathered data, as opposed to someone with no background on the subject making assumptions. The word “studies” assures the viewer that the theory is true and has been tested. “Studies,” however, can surely mean different things. The kairos, or context, also referred to as time and place, assists in establishing credibility. For instance, it can refer to school work. The idea of kairos definitely applies in this situation. Outside of the context of this article, “studies” may no longer have the same meaning and may not assist in establishing credibility.

The appeal of logos also uses the strategy of illustration. The words “body by milk” combined with the image of Amanda Bynes forms a logical argument. Amanda’s photograph logically backs up the statement. Separately, the images and words do not have the same effect. However, together, they create a powerful argument of the type of body obtainable from drinking milk. In choosing Amanda Bynes, a healthy and lean girl, the illustration, logically goes along with what the advertisement claims. The argument that “teens who choose milk tend to be leaner” would not be sound or logical if the background consisted of a heavy girl sitting on a couch watching television. The American ideal is to be lean and healthy. This advertisement is trying to argue that milk can assist in reaching that ideal. It is logical to “choose milk over sugary drinks” because it can help you to look like the image of Amanda. Choosing milk can also help you “grow beautiful,” as stated and logically supported by the use of illustration that shows off Amanda’s beauty.

This advertisement’s argument is very effective at appealing to its audience. Through the use of the appeals of logos and ethos and the rhetorical strategies of illustration, analogy, and cause and effect this advertisement effectively appeals to young women. This advertisement appeals to young women’s logic and to their ethos, causing them to see the good nature of the “Got Milk?” campaign. The structure of this advertisement effectively appeals to young women, effectively convincing them of the importance, necessity, benefits, and coolness of drinking milk. The combination of the appeals of ethos and logos works to form the sound argument favoring milk. This advertisement puts milk in a different like. It shows drinking milk as having the effect of creating images that women desire to be and that men desire to be with. So, as this advertisement convinces of the importance of the refreshing beverage that comes from cows, “Got Milk?”

Works Cited

"Got Milk?" Wikipedia. 10 Apr. 2008. 6 Apr. 2008.