’Got Milk’: focus on Batman

NEW YORK - Batman’s heroic strength is being put down to a good old-fashioned daily glass of milk for the latest US ’Got Milk?’ ad, where the caped crusader dons a white moustache to promote the forthcoming ’Batman Begins’ film.

Batman is the latest star to feature in the milk moustache campaign, following the likes of ’Sex and the City’ star Kim Cattrall, former pop trio Atomic Kitten, the cast of US sitcom ’Frasier’, Britney Spears and ’Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ actress Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The Batman milk campaign, created by Bozell New York, is part of a year-long promotional feature comprising press, online and outdoor to encourage children to drink milk and get all the calcium they need to be strong and healthy.

In the ad, Batman says: "For the hero in all of us. Milk’s nine essential nutrients give me the strength and energy I need to fight the forces of evil. Not drinking milk? Now that would be a crime."

The campaign involves schools campaign using DC Comics and Warner Brothers consumer products.

Batman is being followed by his super strong friend, Superman, to appear on more than 2m books at schools nationwide in the US.

Peter Gardiner, media director of Bozell New York, said: "DC Comics provides a powerful way to leverage the hugely popular appeal of Batman with the milk moustache’s campaign focus on health and nutrition."

The latest movie, ’Batman Begins’, written by David Goyer and Bob Kane and directed by Christopher Nolan, goes back to the origins of the Batman legend and how industrial heir Bruce Wayne, played by Christian Bale, came to become a stong, intelligent force that can fight off evil.

In the film, which appears in the UK in June 12, Batman is seeking justice for the murder of his parents and to fight against those who threaten the city of Gotham.

The ’Got Milk?’ campaign is jointly funded by the US dairy industry and dairy farmers.