Why do we say "If you've got it, flaunt it"?

Meaning:

If you've got something you're proud of don't be afraid to show it off.

Background:

This expression originates in the 1967 movie The Producers, written and directed by Mel Brooks. The phrase was shouted out the window by Max Bialystock (played by Zero Mostel): "That's it, baby, when you've got it, flaunt it! Flaunt it!"

In his 2012 book Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!): How To Unleash Your Creative Potential, George Lois claims to have coined the expression for a series of ads for Braniff Airlines. Braniff Airlines did use the slogan in their ads starring celebrities such as Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol, but according to SFO Museum (located inside San Francisco airport), the ad firm of Lois, Holland, Callaway did not win the Braniff account until 1968, and thus it would seem that credit does go to Mel Brooks.

Thanks to Anne Naugler for correcting our earlier incorrect source for this expression which we believed to originate in a song from The Producers, but the song was part of the 2001 Broadway musical version, also written by Mel Brooks, not the original movie.

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