COMPANY: Gujrat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)

BRAND: Amul

CREATORS OF THE AMUL MOPPET: Sylvester daCunha and Eustace Fernandez

CURRENT AGENCY: Da Cunha Associates & Draft FCB Ulka

PAST AGENCIES: Same as above

THE WEEKLY HEADS UP: Rahul daCunha, Creative Director, da Cunha Associates , writer Manish Jhaveri and illustrator Jayant Rane are the team that brainstorms to chalk out the weekly advertisement

The Amul advertising campaign story as we know it today began in 1966 when Sylvester daCunha, then the Managing Director of the advertising agency ASP, clinched the account for Amul butter

Da Cunha, along with Eustace Fernandez, and his team wanted to create a character that would catch the attention of every housewife in India and change the dull, boring image of butter

They thought of a little girl, and so was born the cartoon character who has represented Amul and still represents the brand as a cute little 4 year old girl eating butter

The “Utterly Butterly Delicious!’ humming thumb-sized girl, dressed in a polka-dotted frock soon evolved into a ‘pun’ loving star, who with her bold tongue-in-cheek topicals, made way directly into the hearts of millions

Few know that the Amul moppet was created to counter the then iconic Paulson girl. The strategy? A chubby, almost angelic girl who has all her fun and never ages pitted against the very glamorous Paulson girl

For over 40 years, the ‘utterly butterly’ girl has managed to keep her fan following intact. Ever since she graced a hoarding in 1967, the Amul moppet has won many hearts

The Utterly Butterly girl, a blue haired moppet in a polka dotted dress, who has held the attention of the Indian public for

over four decades now

Initially ,the Amul advertising campaign thrived on the strength of their base line and witty pun. The strategy was to “keep the ads straight and simple!”

Then the ads became more topical. The team strategized to change the simple ads and rather focus on creating ‘moments’

Now, as we all know, it has become more than an ad if that’s possible and also become a social critique that entertains as well as educates

The campaign is in fact a humorous take on everything that has made India what it is today

Amul has always been up to date with current affairs; be it entertainment, art, politics, society, sports, technology or weather. Thereby the viewers of the ad are able to relate it with the current scenario

Amul has a ready and humorous reply to every news; its cartoons portray the current issues in a light hearted fashion

A characteristic feature of Amul ads are the catchy lines it uses. It is in sync with the cartoon and also makes a subliminal reference to Amul butter

The taglines used by Amul are catchy, and makes one laugh, at the same time, it is not offending

Brand Yatra

Simple

Consistent

Humor

Evergreen

Truly the Taste of India

A Culture by Itself

Quality and Variety

Amul has followed the umbrella branding strategy in its advertising. Their corporate campaign ‘The Taste of India’ caters to people belonging to all walks of life and across cultures

The Amul girl, apart from promoting a $1-billion brand, has been bringing smiles to millions

Amul’s magic charm lies in the catchy lines, which revolves on humor that anyone could enjoy

With advertising and marketing expenditures amounting to less than one percent of its total revenues, Amul has been able to create a brand equity, which now they leverage

Amul Butter ads have evinced the interest of Indian audiences for its unique blend of humor, satire, great illustrations and the ability to draw everyone’s attention to the dark side of current events with a funny twist

For over four decades, the ‘utterly butterly’ girl has managed to keep her fan following intact. So much so that the ads are now ready to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for being the longest running campaign ever

The success of the longest running ad campaign, lies in Amul keeping with the times, and understanding the need of the hour. What other marketers should learn is huge ad spends does not guarantee success

A Presentation By:

Sonal AgarwalSharat ShyamSimran TalwarNeha Juneja

Natasha Bedi