- Eleftheria Parpis

NEW YORK The iconic "Milk Mustache" campaign this week kicked off a new initiative, "Drink well. Live well," that brands milk as "Nature's Wellness Drink."

The push from IPG's Lowe in New York includes an ad featuring Christie Brinkley, one of the first celebrities to wear a milk mustache in the original print campaign that debuted in 1995.

The ad was unveiled today at the Sundance Film Festival, where attendees were encouraged to pose for their own milk mustache portraits at a branded "Wellness Center." The print effort itself is set to break next week in USA Today.

While the campaign has in the past stressed specific health benefits -- such as building strong bones and assisting with weight loss -- this iteration marks the first time the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) in Washington, D.C., has promoted a broader platform of wellness. The tweaked strategy emerged from an agency research project last year.

"The whole concept of wellness has become a big part of our culture and the way people are thinking about health now," said Sal Taibi, president of Lowe in New York. Taibi, noting the popularity of beverage products that tout nutritional benefits, added: "Milk is the original wellness drink."

The "Drink well. Live well" series began with an online push on www.drinkwelllivewell.com, a site featuring Brinkley as "The New Face of Wellness." The venue touts the "nutrient rich" beverage that has been "endorsed by more than 250 famous faces," and invites visitors to join them by uploading their own photos. That site leads consumers to www.whymilk.com, which provides nutritional information and showcases celebrities and ads from the long-running campaign.

"We have this celebrity heritage," said Taibi. "We're leveraging the continued popularity of the 'Milk Mustache' campaign."

A TV commercial features scenes of women engaging in various activities. There's frolicking on the beach with a boyfriend (on-screen type reads "play well"), and playing with kids (the copy advises: "seek well"). The voiceover says: "Feel good inside and out. Milk is naturally nutrient rich like no other beverage."

The wellness platform will be continued in milk advertising throughout the year, said Taibi. The effort will also include a coast-to-coast Milk Mustache Mobile Wellness Tour from April to September, offering samples, health information, fitness tests and health assessments.