*_The story of the "Utterly Butterly (Delicious), Amul Girl"._*

 *_The story of the "Utterly Butterly (Delicious), Amul Girl"._*

The much-loved icon of modern India, the deliciously witty *_Amul girl_*, turns *56* this October. Since her inception in 1966, this cheerful blue-haired little moppet, in a red polka-dotted dress, has wowed the nation, with her sometimes tongue-in-cheek, occasionally controversial & always enjoyable one-liners, in billboard & print ads. One of India’s longest running ad campaigns, this is also probably the only ad campaign in the country, with an unchanged theme & style, for almost 56 years now.

*_Here’s the story behind one of India’s most loved mascots who continues to win hearts with her tongue-in-cheek humour & clever wordplay._*

While the brand *_Amul_", was registered & started its work in 1957, the advertising campaign started only in 1966. The DaCunha Ad agency of Mumbai, was given the responsibility of the brand’s ad campaign, by *_Dr. Verghese Kurien_*, head of Amul and the father of *_India’s White Revolution_* – *_the world’s biggest dairy development programme._*

Back then, advertising on television & print media, was wildly expensive & so Sylvester DaCunha, the Founder-Chairman of DaCunha Communications, decided to design an *_Amul_* ad campaign, for the more affordable outdoor hoardings.

The *_Amul girl_*, was created by Eustace Fernandes, the Art Firector of DaCunha Communications, in 1966, the same year the simple yet catchy phrase *_“Utterly Butterly”_* was coined by Sylvester’s wife, Nisha DaCunha. Initially, the word *_‘butterly‘_* met with a lot of skepticism, because it was ungrammatical. However, it worked superbly for the brand & soon became one of the most memorable taglines in Indian advertising!

In 1966, DaCunha & Fernandes, designed the mascot’s first public appearance on billboards. The cute image of the *_Amul girl_*, kneeling in prayer, with one eye closed & another on a pack of butter, with the words, *_“Give us this day our daily bread, with Amul Butter”_* got an immediate positive response from the public.

However, DaCunha soon realised that there was only so much one could say about food. He decided to pitch the dairy brand’s ad campaign differently, in a way that would instantly connect with the public. In 1966, he released the *_Amul girl’s_* first topical ad. Titled *_“Thoroughbread”_", the ad showed the Amul girl as a jockey, holding a slice of bread during the horse race season. The feedback was again very positive.

Next came the monsoon ad, *_“Pitter-patter, pick-a, pack-a Amul butter”_*, & an ad about the Kolkata hartals of the 1960s ,*_”Bread without Amul - cholbe na, cholbe na”_*. A clever play on the slogans of the processions, *_“Cholbe na!”_* (or *_“Will not do!”_*), the ad drew a smile from Bengalis, across the country.

While *_Amul’s_* topicals ads were very popular, they also posed a challenge – they needed to be released quickly or else, they would lose much of their impact. Realising that the protocol & logistics of approving & releasing an ad, took a lot of time, Verghese Kurien, gave DaCunha Communications, the freedom to run the campaign without waiting to take permission from the company. This very rare gesture, reflected Verghese Kurien’s seasoned business acumen & a unique way of going about things. This immense creative freedom is still maintained & is the the reason, why the *_Amul girl_* is never late with her take on the world.

The permission & trust in the relationship, were handed down to Rahul DaCunha, when he inherited the *_Amul_* campaign from his father, in the early 1990s.

Under Rahul, the campaign increasingly commented on contemporary events in sports, politics & films. While most of their satirical messages were welcomed sportingly by popular figures & organizations, occasionally, a few ads managed to ruffle feathers.

The ad agency was served legal notices several times, but they never gave in, always standing by their ads. For instance, during a prolonged airline strike, the *_Amul_* ad said, *_“Indian Airlines serves Amul butter – when it flies."_* A furious airline demanded the immediate removal of the ad or threatened to stop serving *_Amul_" butter, but the company didn’t relent.

Ads involving Jagmohan Dalmiya, Suresh Kalmadi, Satyam Computers & Subrata Roy also resulted in the agency being served legal notices, but in all these cases, the agency & Amul never relented.

Helmed by Rahul DaCunha, copywriter Manish Jhaveri & illustrator Jayant Rane, the *_Amul girl_* ads, have retained their fearlessness over the years. Under Jhaveri, the ad campaign also developed its unique style of vocabulary, with lots of puns & a colloquial flavour. He also brought in a new mix of regional & formal vocabulary that was loved by the public.

Rane, on the other hand, has been painting the *_Amul_* ads painstakingly by hand, for thirty years. Referring to scrapbooks compiled by previous teams, the illustrator ensures, that he sticks to *_Amul girl’s_* trademark features – blue hair, chubby cheeks, wide eyes, no nose & long eyelashes – even while adding celebrity twists.

Having worked together for years, the talented trio, have perfected the art of choosing a subject for the Amul girl ad & releasing it at the perfect moment. Most of their campaigns are specifically targeted to the regions they impact the most. While they choose the trending topic from the newspapers, they get the public point of view from social media, which, according to them, has become the weather vane to gauge public perception.

In an age where roping in celebrities for ad campaigns, had become the trend, Amul’s ads stand out for their simplicity, freshness & their penchant of focussing on current events, to bring home a point. This is why the dairy giant’s campaigns & brand, continue to outlive expectations with over 6,000 billboard hoardings, being produced across India till date.

Half a century later, the *_Utterly Butterly Girl_* continues to peer down billboards, having had her say on everything happening in India for decades. To celebrate the *_Amul Girl’s Golden Jubilee Anniversary,_* DaCunha Communications, has released a coffee table book, that tells the story of an evolving India, as seen from the Amul girl’s eyes.

*_Thats the story of the Utterly Butterly girl_*.