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SUPERMAN AND BATMAN CRUSADE FOR CALCIUM: BATMAN WEARS A CHOCOLATE MILK MUSTACHE |
dccomics.com - April 7, 2000
In addition to his physical prowess, master of martial arts and stellar detective skills, Gotham City's Dark Knight, Batman, can add "Milk Mustache celebrity" to his already impressive credentials. The latest celebrity to be spotted sporting a milk mustache, Batman likes his milk of the chocolate variety. Thanks to his mental superiority, he knows that chocolate milk has all the same nutrients as regular milk, including calcium, plus a great chocolatey taste.
The Milk Mustache ad featuring Batman appears in the April issue of Sports Illustrated for Kids, on newsstands March 27, 2000, and reads, "Be a Dark Knight. Want to grow? Chocolate milk has all the nutrients of regular milk, so drink it up."
Taking time out of his busy crime-fighting schedule, Batman is teaming up with the "got milk?"(R)/Milk Mustache campaign to let kids know that calcium is a crucial part of their diets and that milk is one of the best ways to get the calcium they need.
"The adolescent and teen years present an opportunistic growth phase for bones - as nearly half of all bone is formed and about 15 percent of adult height is added during the teen years," said Kurt Graetzer, CEO of the Milk Processor Education Program. "Lowfat chocolate milk gives kids a flavorful new way to up their calcium intake whether they drink it in the morning, at lunch or as an afterschool snack."
"Joining forces with Batman and DC Comics is a great way for us to start
bringing important milk health messages straight to kids and teens," said
Linda Racicot, executive vice president of domestic marketing for Dairy
Management Incô. ``Six out of 10 boys and seven out of 10 girls ages 6 - 11
do not meet their recommended amounts of calcium, while nearly nine out of
ten teenage girls and almost seven out of ten teenage boys do not get the
calcium they need."
Batman's not the only DC Comics superhero to don a milk mustache. An ad featuring the Man of Steel himself, Superman, also made its debut on March 27th. Both the Batman and Superman Milk Mustache ads come as part of a multi-faceted, year-long promotional alliance with DC Comics and Warner Bros. Consumer Products that includes a consumer-targeted promotion, sweepstakes program, custom magazine publishing program and an in-school campaign.
"We're very excited about pairing Batman and Superman with Milk. Milk is associated with wholesome all-American ideals and behavior and we believe that this attitude is the foundation of what motivates our characters to be heroes," said Joel Ehrlich, Senior Vice President -- Advertising & Promotions.
For optimal bone growth, the National Academy of Sciences recommends children ages 6 to 8 get 1,000 mg of calcium each day, the equivalent of at least three 8-ounce glasses of milk. With age comes a significant increase in the recommendation - children ages 9 - 18 need 1,300 mg of calcium or at least four 8-ounces glasses daily, in order to help bones grow strong and help prevent the bone-crippling disease osteoporosis - and that's one enemy not even Batman could bring to justice.