In 1993, the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) approached San Francisco advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners with a challenging task. Milk was a boring product and sales in the state had been on a long-term decline.

Jeff Goodby, the agency’s co-founder and creative director, discovered that most of the milk being consumed was when it was paired with treats such as cookies or brownies. Through focus groups, Goodby and his team determined that consumers felt deprived if they were eating a “milk-demanding” snack, yet didn’t have any milk to help wash it down. Goodby took that knowledge and used it to coin a tagline that everyone could easily understand, “got milk?”

Those two small words were the creation of a big idea that 20 years later is still relevant in advertising. Since the original “Aaron Burr” television spot (shown above), “got milk?” has transformed into an iconic campaign. Eventually came the famed print ads of celebrities sporting a milk mustache, then the launch of a website, then a “got milk?” campaign in the Spanish language known as “Toma Leche” (Spanish for got milk).

Ultimately, the campaign did what it set out to do. Milk sales instantly increased, and continued to do so. While it may not be as prevalent as it was a decade ago, the tagline is still creating a buzz today. It has been able to withstand the shift from traditional to digital media, and it is remarkable that a 20-year-old tagline has amassed over 67,000 Facebook likes and over 2,000 Twitter followers.  There is merchandise containing the phrase, and there are constant imitations of the grammatically incorrect tagline (a sign that your idea truly works).

A big idea in modern advertising is not what it was 20 years ago. Today, a big idea can be anything from Red Bull having a guy skydive from outer space or Tesco creating interactive digital billboards that allow consumers to make purchases on the spot. These big ideas are only going to go as far as the consumer is willing to take them. And in the minds of consumers, the more unprecedented something can be to separate itself from the clutter, the bigger it will become.

The fact that “got milk?” is still around today proves that it may potentially be one of the biggest big ideas ever. If it were to launch tomorrow, I don’t think the “got milk?” campaign would survive. But since it created such a stir at its launch and was able to carry on throughout the years, “got milk?” is a big idea that may never die.

Think back to when you were a child. What did you want to be when you grew up? I dreamed of being a professional football player, a garage man, or an astronaut. I had little “glow in the dark” planet stickers on the ceiling of my bedroom and always asked Santa Claus for a telescope for Christmas. I hoped to walk on the moon one day.

I’m sure there are millions of people throughout the world who shared a similar aspiration. And for 22 of them, Axe is going to make their dream a reality.

To promote Apollo, their newest scent of body spray, deodorant, shampoo, and shower gel, Axe has launched the Axe Apollo Space Academy (AASA, potentially to rhyme with NASA) and AxeApollo.com. Through this academy, 22 people will be given a free one-hour ride to space aboard “The Lynx,” a space plane made by the Space Expedition Corporation that seats one pilot and one passenger.

The contest will be promoted 60 countries and 45 languages. Contestants must be 18 years or older and will create a profile and video explaining why they should be chosen to be the next astronaut. Online voting will decide the fate of 100 finalists, who will be sent to the Axe Global Space Camp in Orlando, FL in December 2013. Twenty-one winners will be chosen based on passing a physical examination and their performance in competitive space-simulation challenges. The 22nd winner will be chosen directly from an online sweepstakes in the United States, which will run from January 9th until February 3rd.

Axe hired astronaut Buzz Aldrin to serve as the spokesperson and head of AASA. In an YouTube video about the contest, Aldrin invited those to register for the opportunity to “leave a man, come back a hero.”

I live by the motto “go big or go home.” Axe is definitely “going big” with this campaign. It’s breaking through the clutter and creating a once in a lifetime opportunity. I think people will participate because the average citizens can’t afford a trip to space. It is worth it to gain interest in the brand when the reward is something of this magnitude.

In just over two weeks, Axe got over 150,000 hits on YouTube. According to Matthew McCarthy, senior director of brand development for Axe in North America, thousands have already entered into the USA sweepstakes, and that should grow during the Super Bowl when a 30-second spot will encourage people to participate.

I think the strongest aspect of this campaign is that it will be global. Aside from the United States sweepstakes, Axe has confirmed that at least one astronaut will come from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines. There has never been a Filipino astronaut before. Axe is going to take one random person and turn them into a national hero. They could potentially turn the whole island into Axe users, depending on how popular their astronaut becomes. This campaign should generate a global buzz and produce great dividends for Axe.