Masculinity is a topic that advertisers like to exploit among males. Notice how they always choose the popular male athletes to represent their brand. When one thinks about sports drinks, gatorade and powerade usually comes to mind. However, in the Mark McGwire milk ad, milk is represented in a way that makes it appear better for you than those energy drinks. The key to any successful ad is not only the spokesperson, but also the colors, the clothing, and the text 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, one will be like Mark McGwire. One can clearly see that the target audience for the ad is adult males. By looking at the spokesperson, the coloring, the clothing, and the text we can see that the ad is specifically targeting adult males. This is important because the ad is distinguishing itself from sports drinks by saying that it is a healthier option for males, while also giving one the same amount of energy and strength.

By using McGwire as the spokesperson for the ad, one can see that the target audience is males because McGwire is a popular former baseball player.  In his career, he hit 583 home runs and he is the fastest player in MLB history to hit 500 home runs as well.  This is why they chose McGwire to represent milk because they want males to believe that drinking it will make you healthy and strong as opposed to sugary sports drink such as gatorade and powerade. 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 suggests that milk will make a person confident and strong.  In addition to his confident appearance, McGwire also has a 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 because it advertises milk as a stronger option than sugary sports drinks.

Another main component of any ad is the coloring because it is used to create the tone of the ad.  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 because men generally like the color black.  The advertisers do this because they know that the use of black matches the background to make it look like a plain and simple ad.  All one can see is McGwire, his bat, and his glass of milk which is the point because McGwire is supposed to be the focal point of the ad.  Additionally, the image has not been altered in any way.  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 relate to men and also make milk appear more masculine. 

Clothing is also very important in this advertisement because McGwire is dressed like a common man to appeal to the common man.  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.  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 representing men as strong humans who enjoy a glass of milk, rather than sports drinks.

 Lastly, the text contains 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 text informs us that milk is a healthier option than a sports drink, while giving us specific ingredients of milk.  Then it uses the words ice cold to show 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 text, 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.  This is important because milk is portrayed as having good taste, while also being good for you which according to these advertisers, is important to men.

The main response that this ad is trying to elicit from men is strength.  One can see this because the advertisers chose a popular baseball player in McGwire and also have him wearing a sleeveless shirt while holding a glass of milk.  The creators of the ad seem to believe that in order to sell more milk to men, they needed to feature a popular American athlete, while also keeping the ad simple by using a plain background and dressing McGwire in casual clothes.  The advertisers clearly think that most men enjoy sports and want to be strong and confident like McGwire.  They also try to make milk appear more natural and healthy compared to leading sports drinks.  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.
