Trisha, Taylor Lead Advertising Binge

Trisha Yearwood's 2008 Got Milk? ad. Photo courtesy of accessatlanta.com.

July 30, 2008 — You know country music is hot when Madison Avenue sits up and takes notice of the genre, and that’s exactly what’s happening these days. Taylor Swift, Trisha Yearwood and Julianne Hough are all taking part in new, just-announced advertising/endorsement campaigns that demonstrate marketers believe country stars help connect their products to Middle America.

Taylor is being hailed by Venus Embrace, a women’s razor company, as a Goddess of Summer. Starting Aug. 15, Taylor’s beauty tips will be shared on the Venus Embrace website.

Trisha is the latest celebrity to join the "Got Milk?" ad campaign, showing off her milk mustache in magazine ads beginning Aug. 5. She’s one of many stars who’ve brushed their upper lip with cow juice in the last 15 years. Other country artists who’ve endorsed the product include Carrie Underwood, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Ray Cyrus and Julianne Hough, who appeared in one of the ads a year ago with "Dancing With The Stars" partner Apolo Ohno.

Julianne, meanwhile, has another ad deal in the works. She was set to perform the Juicy Fruit jingle in a New York concert yesterday, according to Billboard, introducing a new version of a classic ad slogan. Other Wrigley gums are being celebrated in campaigns featuring R&B singers Ne-Yo and Chris Brown.

One other commercial that’s created quite a lot of buzz is one that probably won’t actually happen. A condom manufacturer has said it would pay Miley Cyrus — who sang with dad Billy Ray on the country hit "Ready, Set, Don’t Go" — $1 million to represent the company.

It’s apparently just a publicity stunt. A spokesperson for Miley told E! Online, "We never received an offer, nor would she consider the offer."

Those are just the newest developments for country stars in advertising. Also seen and heard in recent months: Dolly Parton in a Target spot, Lady Antebellum in an iLike commercial, Blake Shelton in Pepsi Stuff radio ads, Kenny Chesney in a Corona commercial and Carrie Underwood endorsing Nintendo. And coming Sept. 1: Sara Evans singing an old Libby’s jingle.