Explore the history and Politics of India through Amul ads

     Explore the history and Politics of India

Amul: The Taste of India: 'Utterly butterly delicious'

Yesterday, I read the news about the death of Sylvester daCunha, the man behind the iconic Amul Girl 'utterly butterly' campaign. The ad campaign was launched in 1966 after being designed by Sylvester daCunha, who was the then Managing Director of the advertising agency ASP, and its art director was Eustace Fernandes.

The death news of Sylvester daCunha reminded me about an activity which I conducted with my students as a class project to explore the post-independence history of India by analysing ads as contemporary pieces of evidence.

The Butter Girl, who made her debut in 1966, has had a large fan following for over 55 years, surpassing even the greatest stars of Indian media.

In 1966, Amul decided to appoint Advertising and Sales Promotion (ASP) to work on their advertising campaign. Sylvester da Cunha, then the manager of the agency decided to create something that would grab the attention of a common man of the country. Dr. Verghese Kurien, the Amul man, suggested a mischievous little girl as a mascot. According to the book 'Amul's INDIA 3.0,' daCunha wanted to create a mascot that could position itself among mothers and children. It was then decided that a child would be the face of the brand. Sylvester daCunha explained his visualisation to Eustace Fernandes, who brought the Amul Girl to life. The catchphrase "utterly butterly delicious" of the ad campaign was coined by Sylvester's wife, Nisha da Cunha.

The mascot, who has become a household name with her polka-dotted frock, blue hair, and rosy cheeks, is known for her one-liners on any topical issue.

Since 1966, the Amul girl has proactively participated in all of India‟s leading sociopolitical discussions. We decided to explore how the 'Utterly butterly Girl' is leading India's sociopolitical discussion forum. We selected Amul advertisement posters available on the subsite of Amul.

Visit Amul website to find advertisements from 1976

http://www.amul.com/m/amul-hits

Amul advertisements represent the history of modern India, portrayed by the Butter Girl. The advertisement consists of humorous and entertaining remarks about a current event that occurred during the week or recently. The events are political, social, media, cricket, special national celebration and famous personalities.

Through the Amul girl, Amul has established itself as “Test of India” a brand representing the power of cooperative movement in India. Students were asked to work on any two worksheets from a decade, and in a group, they had to cover any two events from a decade.

The assignment was given as a formative assignment task for submission under social science.

Understanding a cartoon advertisement:

There are many different ways of discovering information about the past. A historical source is something that tells us about history. It can be a document or an artifact.

There are main two types of sources primary sources and secondary sources. All sources have their strengths and weaknesses. t's fine to accept facts from some sources, such as historical documents, but we need to think about the message in a cartoon advertisement very carefully. We can't believe everything that we see.

Decoding the advertisements:

          Advertisements serve as valuable historical documents by offering glimpses into the past. Old advertisements as historical documents provide insights into cultural norms, consumer behavior, significant events and societal dynamics, reflecting the values and trends of a specific time period.

Advertisements can serve as evidence of historical events or milestones. They frequently incorporate references to significant political, social, or cultural moments, providing a snapshot of the collective consciousness and public discourse of the time.

          By examining advertisement content, visuals, and messaging; slogans, historians can uncover insights about historical events. Critical thinking is necessary to analyse advertisements as historical evidence in history learning to assess bias, context, etc.

Amul advertisements are in a way cartoon advertisements. Amul ads are known for their distinctive cartoon style. Through clever illustrations, they convey messages with humour and satire, making them highly engaging and memorable. They serve as a delightful window into India's past, capturing its essence in just a few frames. What we see in a cartoon advertisement does not always reflect reality literally. Cartoons use symbols and everyday situations to give a completely different message. Another reason to be careful when looking at cartoons is that you only get one side of the story. The cartoonist‟s own opinions are shown and sometimes a cartoonist may show a political point of view because of his own beliefs. Fortunately, Amul advertisements are occasionally controversial.

Worksheet: Explore history and politics of India Amul: The Taste of India 'Utterly butterly delicious.' Prepare a write-up about the picture regarding the following points (one page) 1. Which story from the time is being represented here? 2. Details about the Topic/event show 3. Write about the picture and punch line/one-liner in the advertisement 4. Describe the background of the event 5. Describe the situation in detail. 6. Write about your views and understanding of the event. 7. Describe the message conveyed through the advertisement.

 

Submission by a student:

Amul Hits of 2010 – 2011 The year 2011 Title: Activist Hazare's anti-corruption rally - Dec'11 Event: This cartoon is from the same background explained in the previous cartoon. The Lokpal bill will help to punish the people who are corrupt more easily. (At the present moment there is no an efficient system that can investigate properly and rapidly of corruption) The protest has taken the form of a big movement nowadays as before the recent protest in 2011, 9 times the protest was rejected. The government fears that if the Lokpal bill is implemented much corruption will be found and thus they will lose their power so the government is delaying decision-making deliberately. In April 2001, Anna Hazare again started the movement to which people responded overwhelmingly. He is on a hunger strike against the government to pressurise them and in support of the Lokpal bill. Message: The cartoon supports the movement. It conveys the message that ‘Cooperate and support Anna Hazare and help in the approval of the bill.’ It also makes it clear that people are supporting Anna and thus government is under pressure. About the picture and tagline: Amul girl is thanking Anna for his effective support to common people. Here again, the two meanings make the cartoon effective. (Don't eat or please eat) The Amul girl is thanking Anna for his important role. My views: Yes, indeed I support Anna Hazare. A strict law against corrupt people should be established as in this era people only fear punishments. Lokpal bill, again if implemented will prove a milestone in the history of India, no doubt.

 Prashant Divekar 

Jnana Prabodhini, Pune