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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 ‘Amul doodh peeta hai India,’ conceptualised & created by FCB-Ulka, was drafted to proclaim its leadership position and was targeted at people across all income categories. Says Sodhi, “Our corporate campaign – The Taste of India caters to people belonging to all walks of life & across cultures. It is circled around a one day old child who needs milk as much as to a dead man who needs ghee.”
In November 2006, Amul became the first Indian company to launch its ready-to-drink coffee – Amul Kool Café. Instead of going by the norms, Amul decided to launch this cool summer drink in winters. Explains Sodhi, “Main idea was to break away from the clutter as in summers a whole lot of players come out with their drinks. By launching the drink in winters, we got enough time to establish an efficient supply chain. And it paid off since our sales in winters were equal to the summer sales.” Amul also launched Amul Kool Koko in August 2007 to further stranglehold its position in the Indian beverages market.
In January 2007, GCMMF introduced the Amul range of sugar free and pro-biotic ice-creams. A first of its kind product, the ice creams – Amul Prolife and Amul Sugar Free – are targeted towards the health-conscious and to those having diabetes. The ad campaign that bets high on the health quotient received the world’s most prestigious award – The International Dairy Federation Marketing Award (2007) – for Amul pro-biotic ice-cream launch. However, the sales figures do not stand testimony to the success of pro-biotic ice creams. Avers Sodhi, “Indians are not aware of the benefits of the pro-biotic ice creams. We still have not been able to communicate the benefits to the target segment. Although it is an accepted concept in the western countries, in India we’ll have to make some more investments to spread the message to the target audience.”
Amul is an excellent example of a company making the optimal utilisation of media to promote its products. With advertising and marketing expenditures amounting to less than one percent of its total revenues, Amul stands out for its quality and variety. It is indeed, The Taste of India.
Edit bureau: Savreen Gadhoke
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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