Amul

4Ps

Utterly ‘pun’acious

Naughty girl turns forty and still going strong

‘Utterly Butterly Delicious!’ hummed a thumb sized little girl dressed in a polka-dotted frock and so was born a star – a ‘pun’ loving star – who with her bold tongue-in-cheek topicals made way directly into the hearts of millions. The history of the Amul girl can be traced back to 1967, when the first hoarding of Amul came up in Bombay (now Mumbai) and became an instant hit, especially with housewives. The man behind the Amul girl, Sylvester da Cunha (founder of daCunha Communications) who, at that time was working with Lintas, recalls, “We needed a girl who would worm her way into a housewife’s heart.” 40-years hence, the bubbly Amul girl has found her way directly into the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest running campaign ever.

Otherwise an epitome of India’s largest food brand, it is interesting to note that the Amul girl has always been flying high on the hoardings but never seen on television. R. S. Sodhi, Chief General Manager, GCMMF says, “Creatives cannot be easily translated from one media to another. The topicals are created in different languages & pertain to the geographical region they are put in. Every kind of media has different attributes & we need to focus on that particular media, which brings maximum recognition & effectiveness to the brand.”

Amul, a brand of the apex organisation GCMMF, has been an excellent success story of a co-operative organisation – a concept not very popular in India. Its range of dairy products includes milk, butter, ghee, cheese, curd, chocolate, ice cream, et al. The establishment of Amul in 1946 was marked as an epoch in the White Revolution of the country.

Amul’s advertising strategy has followed the concept of ‘Umbrella Branding.’ Amul is the common brand name for most of its products across categories. For instance, the Amul girl has also been used to advertise Amul ghee and milk. Its ad campaign...