Cruising 100 cities coast to coast, the Chocolate Milk Mustache-Mobile is bringing the Taste Sensation Tour to Memphis in an effort to tempt calcium-deficient tummies.
Tonight from 4-7 p.m. at Wal-Mart, 7745 Winchester, everyone's welcome to dip their lip.
The milk mobile, sporting the faces of Britney Spears, Jackie Chan and Patrick Ewing, will entertain Memphis visitors with more than a chocolate fix. Kids can tap into interactive computer games set up in giant milk-bottle shaped stations. Adults can qualify for free bone density tests following osteoporosis assessments, and registered dietitians will be onsite.
Carla Ford, "Got Milk?" campaigner, said the tour is trying to expose better ways to incorporate calcium into everyday diets.
"It's a great thing to tell someone they are not at risk," Ford said.
She said few are aware that chocolate milk has all the essential nutrients of white milk, according to doctors, and plays the same important role in balanced diets.
Campaigner Kevin Labriola said chocolate milk is "a mother's secret weapon."
Looking back on childhood days, Labriola said he remembers anything chocolate being okay with him.
Chocolate milk offers more calcium than enriched orange juice or soy milk and contains half the sugar of sweet alternatives like sodas and juices according to "Got Milk?" reports.
The crowd-pleaser at the tour's sites has been the photo booth, according to Ford.
"The kids just love making a mess of their face," Labriola said.
Everyone's welcome to get their face a little dirty, whether it be a white, chocolate or strawberry mess. The mustache photo booth is there to snap shots for up to three people at a time. A Polaroid and digital picture will be taken. The Polaroid's a keepsake and the digital gets poured into the running for city and national honors.
A "splash and 'stache" shot may just land your mug on the Whymilk.com and NBA.com web sites, or on national display in NBA's Inside Stuff magazine. "Best face" gets a seat at the 2002 NBA all-star game as well.
"Everybody knows the mustache," Labriola said, and that's what's getting the folks in and opening their eyes little wider.
Mouths, too, are opening wide for treats from the mustache tour's taste tent, Labriola and Ford said. This is where three smoothie flavors -- the chocolate-peanut butter cup, strawberries and creme and totally tropical -- can be sipped and selected as favorite flavors.
The smoothies are an idea stemming from the boom in dairy cases and new creations like orange creme, strawberry-banana and vanilla milkshake flavored milks.
Visitors can also grab the new "Got Chocolate Milk?" brochure. Celebrity pictures, smoothie recipes, healthy facts and fun are all part of the pamphlet and more information is available at Whymilk.com.
Ford said she hopes to see many faces come out.
"You could be the next milk mustache celebrity," she said.
