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No need to shave this mustache Photo by Drew Fleming Brody Hamilton, 2, of Central Point, wears a milk mustache for the camera Sunday while his mother, Maralee, cheers him on. They were among dozens of Rogue Valley residents trying out for a chance to be in a magazine ad for milk. The project was also partly educational, about the body's need for calcium. Dairy ad folks look at region's upper lips By JONEL ALECCIA The way milk flies out of Marie Sorenson's refrigerator, she figured her 13-year-old son, Kenneth, could be a poster boy for the dairy industry. "I can go a gallon a day with this guy," the Medford mom said. So on Sunday, Sorenson hauled her son to the Food 4 Less Parking lot in Medford and told him to take a sip and smile. Young Kenneth was among dozens of Rogue Valley residents willing to dip their lips in a mixture of milk and ice cream, all in hopes of appearing in a national milk mustache magazine ad. It's a contest sponsored by the Milk Mustache Mobile, a traveling road show that's part health clinic, part carnival and completely dedicated to boosting America's consumption of calcium. "It's part of a grass-roots education campaign to encourage people to drink three glasses of milk a day," said Steve Bauer, West Coast coordinator for the 100-city tour. Of the 600 people expected to show up during the milk mobile's two-day swing through Medford, one will be picked to appear on a milk Web site and possibly in an ad in People, Teen People or People En Espanol magazines. "We're looking for people who are creative and original," said Bauer. "We've had sports teams, firefighters. I think that's the third dog we've had out here." People who didn't bring pets brought kids. Kathy and Ben Alexander drove from Trail to give their children Ashlee, 8, Nick, 6, and Tianna, 3, the chance to sport milky grins. "I just thought it would be fun," said Kathy Alexander, 36. Dressed in a pink sun dress and matching sandals, Ashlee happily swigged a small cup of the milk-and-ice cream mixture and prepared to join the likes of such celebrities as Melanie Griffith and the Back Street Boys. Click, went the camera. Out came a shiny Polaroid of Ashlee, milk mustache on, tongue out. "Wipe it off your chin, Ashlee," said her father. Shoppers from Food 4 Less who showed up with a sales receipt for two gallons of milk were rewarded white T-shirts printed with the slogan, "Got Milk?" Across the parking lot, Marie Sorenson stepped up for the more serious part of the tour, a test for bone density. She slipped her bare heel into a bone sonometer and found she exceeded density levels based on a control group of 25- to 30-year-old women. "Well, look at me!" said Sorenson, who declined to give her age. "And I don't really like milk." There's always cheese and yogurt, technician Patricia Coyne of Tucson, Ariz., added. It doesn't matter what foods you eat, so long as the total adds up to 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day. That level would help reduce the incidence of osteoporosis, which now affects more than 28 million Americans, according to American Dairy Council statistics. Sponsored by the nation's milk producers, the tour also links increased milk consumption to lower blood pressure and other health benefits. The Milk Mustache Mobile will be in Medford today from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Rogue Valley Medical Center Smullin Center, 2825 Barnett Road. It will also show up for the Southern Oregon Timberjacks Baseball game, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 1801 S. Pacific Highway, Medford. The local winner will appear soon on a Web site at www.whymilk.com Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA