The Pun-dits of Indian Advertising

-Pratham Chopra
 Advertising Mascot

• The utterly butterly ‘Amul girl’ is an icon of the

middle class India right from 1967.

• The Amul girl is a hand-drawn cartoon of a young,

chubby Indian girl dressed in a polka dotted
frock with blue hair and a half pony tied up.

• The brief provided by Amul was simple; ‘Draw a

mascot which is easy to paint in walls and
outdoors’.
 Topical Ad Campaign
• The longest-running ad campaign in India
was conceived by noted ad man Sylvester
DaCunha in 1966.
• The advertisement campaign was aimed to
appeal to mothers and children as Amul’s
main target audience.
• The idea centred on a little girl in polka-dotted
red dress, blue hair and the tag line “Utterly
Butterly Delicious”.
• The Topical hoardings were aimed at giving
people food for thought.
• Amul does a great job in selecting a
trending topic and making an ad about it.
• Through advertisement they have
often raised voice against issues, which
are otherwise not considered relevant
in FMCG product advertising.
• Most companies avoid getting into dirt by Compulsory sterilisation introduced
commenting on political issues, unlike during Indira Gandhi regime.
Amul.

Removal of Article 370 Introduction of Aadhar Card

 Important elements in Amul ads
A)The Picture
• The Amul girl transforms herself into different personalities or
accompanies different personalities.
• The personalities are easy to recognize as they are often the one in
the news in that week.
• The pictures may be a replica of the pictures found in newspapers or
in posters
B) The Main Text
• Once the personalities in the images are resolved, one gets an idea about
the event being referred to. Then, the wit in the text can be understood in
a better way.
• In the image below the personality is George Bush and the main text
“Joota kahin ka” is a pun on the word ‘joota’. There is an allusion to the
commonly used phrase “Jhootha kahin ka”.
C) The Slogan
• The slogan for Amul ads is ‘Utterly Butterly Delicious’. But it is not
always used directly.
• Sometimes a parody of it is used as seen in the ad about Facebook
(utterly twitterly delicious)
• Other times it is used in such a way that it also refers to the product
butter. For example, Fully natural to the brinjals or to the butter.
 Advertising Strategy
• Amul’s advertising strategy has followed
the concept of ‘Umbrella Branding’.
• Amul with its humour punch establishes
its view and brand in a subtle way.
• Amul mainly uses indirect action
advertising to create a long term
relationship with the customers
• Amul has never adopted aggressive
selling practices.
• Amul follows a consistent advertisement
strategy i.e. all of their print ads come in
the top corner of the third page in the
main newspaper.
 Conclusion
• Amul ads are a perfect example of the use of humour in advertising.
• Amul’s advertisements use bilingual techniques to relate to the
modern Indian.
• The humour thus generated makes the ad appealing and popular,
thus providing a good evidence for humour as a good technique in
marketing.
• Today, Amul is not just a brand; it is a movement that represents
public emotions. The chubby-cheeked Amul girl continues to speak
her mind fearlessly, speaking for all of India.