Have you ever wondered the message that advertisements want you to pick up on?  Or perhaps why they chose the spokespeople that they do?  What audience are they targeting?  These are all questions that advertisers must ask before creating an ad, especially for food products.  Not only is the spokesperson important, but also the colors, the clothing, the lighting, and the caption if there is one.  In the Mark McGwire milk ad, he is wearing a sleeveless shirt and jeans while holding a bat against his shoulder.  The intended message in the ad is that if you drink milk every day, you will be like Mark McGwire.  One can clearly see that the target audience for the ad are adult males.  By looking at the spokesperson, the colors, the clothing, the lighting, and the caption we can see that the ad is specifically targeting adult males which most people do not see.  This is important because some people may consider milk to be a drink mostly for girls.

Mark McGwire was chosen to be the spokesperson for this ad because he was a good, well-known baseball player, and also because he appeals more to men.  In his career, he hit 583 home runs and he is the fastest player in MLB history to hit 500 home runs.  This is important because the ad wants you to believe that drinking milk gives you more strength which is why they chose the all-star slugger Mark McGwire as their representative.  The way that McGwire is standing is also important to consider.  He stands straight up with his shoulders back to project a strong, confident appearance.  This is important because it subconsciously makes one think that milk will make a person confident and strong.  Lastly, McGwire has a confident, but also welcoming look on his face.  The ad not only wants you to believe that milk makes you strong, but also that it is an enjoyable experience for men to drink milk.  Through McGwire and his assuring appearance one can see that this ad was designed to appeal to adult males.

Another main component of any ad is the coloring.  In this ad, basic colors were used to create the desired effect.  McGwire stands in front of a black background while wearing a black shirt and jeans as well as a black belt.  The use of black in the ad is clearly used to convey a more serious tone, while appealing to men in the process.  Notice the stark difference between the coloring for this ad and another milk ad featuring Taylor Swift.  In the Swift ad, white is the primary color used in order to target females.  In this ad, black is primarily used to appeal more to men.  By using a more serious color such as black, the ad specifically aims to target men and also make milk appear more masculine.

Clothing is also very important in this advertisement.  In the ad, McGwire wears a black, sleeveless shirt with blue jeans and a black belt, while holding an empty glass of milk in one hand and a baseball bat in the other.  The purpose of the sleeveless shirt is to show off McGwire’s large muscles in order to convince someone that they can have muscles as big as McGwire’s if they drink milk.  Blue jeans and a black belt are utilized to make McGwire appeal more to the common man.  Notice how the ad does not show McGwire in a baseball jersey.  They do not want people to think that milk is meant to be consumed only by baseball players.  They want to attract as many males as they can and not just baseball players or fans.  Additionally, McGwire holds an empty glass of milk to indicate that he drank the milk and is enjoying it.  He also has a milk moustache which provides a nice change of pace to the seriousness of the ad, while further emphasizing that drinking milk is an enjoyable and fun experience.  Lastly, McGwire holds a baseball bat in his other hand so that those who are not familiar with him, can at least assume that he is a baseball player.  Through McGwire’s outfit, we can see that he is being portrayed as a strong, common man who enjoys a glass of milk.  This provides more evidence that the ad is designed for men.

The lighting is another important part of a successful advertisement.  In this ad, the lighting is focused on McGwire’s face and his muscles.  They highlight his face to show the confident, but also welcoming look that he exhibits.  His muscles are highlighted to once again show the strength one can possess if someone drinks milk.  This is important because by highlighting certain features of McGwire, we can see that the ad wants us to believe that drinking milk will make us strong and confident, which are things that every man wants.  

Lastly, the caption gives us the biggest evidence to support the idea that the ad targets men.  It says “Time for more milk.  Its got stuff leading sports drinks don’t – like protein, potassium, and calcium.  That’s why I always have an ice cold glass…  as soon as I get home.”  The caption informs that milk is a healthier option than sports drinks, while giving us specific ingredients of milk.  Then it uses the words ice cold to give us the sense of refreshment that one would feel after coming home from a long days work.  At the top of the ad, it also says “Going, going, gone.” which is usually a phrase that is used to describe a home run, but in this case it is used to describe how quickly McGwire drinks the milk.  Through the caption, one can see that milk is portrayed as a healthier option to sports drinks, but is just as refreshing and enjoyable as a cold glass of water.

The main message of the ad is that drinking milk can be an enjoyable experience for men as well as women.  Through the use of the spokesperson, the colors, the clothing, the lighting, and the caption, one can see all the different ways that milk is portrayed as a drink that every man can enjoy.  Most milk ads that are shown have a lighter and more playful tone.  However, this ad does a good job of standing out and as a result is more memorable than most milk ads.  While the ad may not convince men that drinking milk exclusively will make them look like Mark McGwire, it just may persuade them to have a glass of milk a day.