With a cymbol roll, the camera slowly pans up hosieried legs, then crosses green satin shorts and the No. 12 football jersey, revealing famous New York Jets team quarterback (1965-1972) Joe Namath.
Namath says with a slight Southern accent and a smile, "Now I don't wear panty hose, but if Beautymist can make MY legs looks good, imagine what they'll do for yours." As the spot closes, Namath gets a kiss on the cheek from a young woman -- so we're not confused about his sexuality.
This controversial ad was quite remarkable for 1974 and for a football player. It was received with mixed feelings by a public that revered him. Nonetheless, Namath went down in history for it, making him as well known for wearing panty hose as for his record-breaking stats.
"They came with ad storyboards to our office, and I got a laugh out of it," Namath told
Newsweek in 1999. "When they get up to me, I'm wearing green shorts and a football jersey. We asked our secretary, 'What do you think?' She said, 'It's cute but my daddy wouldn't like it. He doesn't think football players should wear pantyhose.'
"So that started us thinking. We went out for about 10 days, trying to figure out if we'd offend someone. Finally I just said, 'Let's go with our gut feeling. It's humor. I can handle the heat.' And it was a lot of fun, though when I looked at it, my stomach turned. I didn't like anything about the way I looked.
"And some old-timers were perplexed. This guy in Alabama came up to me and said, 'You know, Joe Willy, I don't mind you wearing those there pantyhose like that, but Lord, son, did you really shave your legs?"