The Amul campaign tells the stories of India, a hoarding at a time. The hoardings are markers of the ‘popular’ history of India and have been followed by fans for decades. Timeless and ageless, this long-running campaign has captivated Indians of all ages.
The key character in this saga is the little girl in polka dots, who helped Amul Butter win over an entire nation. This book celebrates her journey through the eyes of prominent writers, public figures and the subjects of the hoardings themselves. It contains a series of vignettes, creating a patchwork quilt of essays, snippets and selections of classic hoardings. It offers us an inside peek into the back story of the creation of the ads.
Amul’s India is a celebration that would be of enormous interest to an observer of contemporary India, be it a brand manager, a management student or a fan of Amul. Or just somebody who wants a rollicking good time.
The longest-running advertisement campaign that is loved by almost all the citizens of India is that of Amul. Amul advertisements are, in fact, something that evokes nostalgia in the minds of many people.
Dr. Verghese Kurien, the founder of Amul, is known as the father of the white revolution in India. This book will help you learn more about the success of Amul and the brilliant minds behind their ad campaign. Many pictures from previous campaigns from various decades included in this book make it a collectible edition for those who love nostalgia.
Five in the morning. Waiting for my flight, a super hot cappuccino in hand and a blueberry muffin lying close on the table. Amul girl couldn't have chosen a more perfect setting to make me chuckle.
I proudly belong to the generation when the bill boards of Amul were hand painted. Sitting in the auto to/from school, the large hoarding of Amul on the cosy corner of a otherwise busy intersection always made everyone peek.
I waited for the two days of the month when some new issue is underlined by being chosen to be dealt by the sweet and perky Amul girl.
Ideas piled up when the first outlines of the new drawing were seen, known that till the time we will be back next day a new talking point will be gained. The next day, it was always a surprise.
This book is a journey for the people of a generation.
When dozens of people in your facebook account did not share funny pictures and cartoons like a daily ritual. When the only dose of cartoons one used to get was on Sundays, on the 2nd page of the newspaper and in the morning slot of the TV.
This indeed was a nostalgic journey and it's for anyone who could identify a good banter and have a laugh about it.
There is a little girl with a pony tail and a polka dot dress who is familiar to every Indian. She is not a real person and yet one who has lived for more than 50 years in the hall of fame of advertising in India : The Amul girl. With tongue in cheek humor, this character has chosen to comment over almost every one of the major happenings in India or outside it. This character is a mascot for a company named Amul which in itself holds a very special place in the mind of Indians.
Following the wars with Pakistan and also the one with China, the scenario of food production that stared India in the face was nightmarish in the 1970’s. If it were not for some drastic measures, the nation would have slid into a severe famine was the uniform evaluation of the experts. There were two movements that happened against this bleak landscape. They both had revolution in their name and both of them were colorful : The white revolution and the green revolution. The former put India firmly on the path of independence in milk production while the latter made Punjab the breadbasket of modern India. The white revolution was spearheaded by a man named Dr. Verghese Kurien who established the first ever co-operative dairy farmer’s society at a place named Anand in Gujrat. In simple terms what this means is that a commune of dairy farmers can deposit their day’s produce to the society which pays them for it and also takes care of the distribution and delivering it to the customer. While at the moment it seems to be a painfully obvious fact, this was a giant leap at the time of inception for the farmers and the officials. Quite predictably the society turned to be effective and one that nurtured mutual development. After the society gained a foothold and came up with their own brand of butter which they named Amul was when the idea of advertisement came to the minds of the management of the company. It was then that they decided to entrust this to the advertising agency named Dacunha associates where the idea for the Amul girl was born and the rest as they say is history.
The book is an anthology of some of the most famous cartoons from the Dacunha stables and a little bit of the story of how they came to be. It also collects a wide variety of opinions from the leadership at Amul and Dacunha to promiment Indians like Amitabh Bachchan, Shobha De, Rahul Dravid and Sania Mirza. There are little anecdotes of nostalgic recollections from their past that links their life to the cartoons and also on what they think are the reasons for the longevity of the brand. Personally, I don’t think Amul makes the best better out there and yet their advertising skills are marvelous. Without fail on a weekly basis, they bring out a cartoon that comments at topic of shared interest. This might be across cinema, cricket, politics or a common news item and it is shared with a slightly satirical tone. One reason why the character endured for so long could be that the humor is never offensive. You cannot help but smile at some of the ideas they have thought up with regards to this product.
The only problem with this book is that it will forever be grounded here in India. Since most of the cartoons are in ‘Hinglish’ (slang for Hindi mixed with English), it will not make sense to a person outside India. Also since the topics are regional and Indian in nature, the folks who can actually make sense of what makes the cartoon so great will be restricted to the subcontinent.
A very interesting read on what a good creative team can do for a brand. Equally noting the presence of mind and the way negative feedback is handled. Truly only advertising gurus can create something as iconic as this.
The moment I saw a tweet about Amul launching a book on 50 years of the Amul girl, I knew I had to buy it. Amul hoardings are loved unanimously across India and everybody has their own stories and favourites of the hoardings. So at the first visit after the book launch to Landmark, I picked it up.
The book impresses you from the introduction itself. A lot of thought has gone into the design and the format of the book and the author tells you why they've chosen it to be the way it is.
It includes anecdotes and reflections from a lot of celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Harsha Bhogle, Alyque Padamsee, Shobaa De, Rajdeep Sardesai, Cyrus Broacha and Shyam Benegal. Their thoughts on the Amul campaign and their favourite hoardings.
My favourite set of essays is by Alyque Padamsee. He makes us realize why Amul campaign is so special - both from an adman's point of view and a normal audience point of view.
Overall, light and nostalgic writing with many Amul hoardings - what's not to like? :-) Definitely a collector's item.
It's a book for the collection. Nice glossy pages, bright colors and the ever young girl in polka dotted frock sometimes mocking other times empathizing with us. I knew what I was getting from this book when I purchased it and even though I feel it could have offered slightly more, I'm not complaining. Interviews and articles however were not rich apart from 3, one by Rahul Dacuhna, other by Shyam Benegal who made the movie Manthan on Gujarat co operative, and the ad man Alyque Padamsee. Other interviews / articles are mostly like 'yeah I love Amul ads and my favorite is the one featuring me'
Though never as profound as Laxman's common man cartoons, Amul ads have been the cheesy history of India, so it's worth keeping a copy of this book.
A brilliant collection of the amazing conceptual ads that amul comes up with! Behind the scenes write up by the few of the many who contributed or were instrumental in making this one of the most successful marketing campaigns, add to the nicety of the book :) the little moppet, I am your fan :)
A wonderful book, easy reading. A book filled with wonderful perspectives, stories, snippets, pictures offering interesting lessons. Anyone with a genuine interest in understanding consumer communication in India must read this book.
Amul’s girl appears every week with a take on current topics in her own way – a little bit of humor, little satire & some great amount of creative genius packed in those crisp one liners. And these she does without being much hurtful.The ads are not just a spoof but a reflection of the contemporary Indian mind.This book celebrates that very essence that this young girl has brought over the last 50 years. The fashion has changed, the technology has too but Amul girl is the same cute girl it was in the 1960′s.
AMUL’s India is a collection of celebrities and eminent personalities recalling their older days and the impact AMUL ads have had on their life. It list the journey of the Amul girl through the eyes of its creators. Listing out small interesting facts about how these ads where made. The best part you revisit the ads not in a simple chronological order but in non linear narrative through people who were themselves subjects of these ads.
Yes we do a small history of Anand and how Amul started the White revolution in India. And I mention this because the striking description of Lal Bhadhur Shastri staying with the villagers without letting them know he was PM to take their views is simply heartthrob-ing. We will die to have such examples this day. There isn’t much to say because the book is visual delight. Yes … such nice quality pages( glossy paper), all colored. I wonder how the publisher is managing to sell the book around 250 bucks. I am sure the Amul people are not seeing this book as a profit just a celebration of AMUL girl.
Hats off to daChuna Communciations for creating AMUL “the Brand of India”.
With glossy pages, great designing, lovely sketches, old as well as new (selective) Amul ads and a quick but nostalgic journey back into time when it all started and answers from the man himself (Sylvester daCunha) who set the ball rolling and Rahul daCunha (who kept it rolling) make it an absolute must have. Just as Amul ads, this book will make you smile and keep you smiling for long even after you have put it down. Sadly, Amul's India missed out on the fifth star from me due to lack creativity with text. The book very nicely brings together various perspectives and memories from people behind the campaign as well as the ones who were inspiration to many of the Amul ads, but their say on the campaign and Amul India's mascot - the little girl in polka dot frock - got repetitive. At one point, it started sounding like some dictionary definition of 'Amul Mascot'. I wish the compilers would have paid some more attention towards making the information not only interesting but as informative as possible. Honestly, only a few spoke about things that got me glued to the paragraphs printed in the book. In the end, there can be no excuses for any one who reads, loves Amul mascot, has followed Amul ads, or for that matter, has smiled seeing some of them randomly, to not have a copy of this book. Go, grab it for it is 'Utterly Butterly Delicious'.
Little did I know about Amul and its amazing way of promoting the brand before I went through this book. It was brilliant how a simple and apparently mundane product can achieve such milestone through brilliant marketing.
I always believe that the greatest of the marketing campaigns always use simplest of the tools. All you need is a great long term vision, a proper and effective marketing tool, great creative thinking which maintains consistency and of course a constant presence in front of the stakeholders. I believe Amul has been able to put all of these ingredients together to pull off this great recipe. It has become so powerful that it is now considered synonymous with the nation itself.
The book overall is successful in terms of its core objective. It has covered the important elements to give its readers a holistic view of the Amul branding strategy. However, I expected a butter smooth write up which would provide even a non-fiction such as this a flavor of fiction. Unfortunately, it was missing there for which I had to finish this book with multiple attempts.
Nonetheless, credit has to be given where credit is due. And I believe this book reminds us the core of marketing which us, modern marketeers often forget - Simple always works.... always.
A compact, beautifully designed, non-expensive coffee-table book. I am glad this is the last book I read in 2012.
It traces 50 years of Amul advertising through outdoor hoardings, designed by advertising agency DaCunha communications. It traces the birth of the Amul slogan, how the Amul girl came about it be (first drawn and dreamt up by Eustace Fernandez) and various subjects it has covered over the years with wit, irreverence and no malice. Amul ads unintentionally became chronicler of times, as various events and people were covered by ads. It is an anthology selected by different people who have been associated with the brand in some way of other - Cyrus Broacha (once a copyrighter with DaCunha), Rahul Dravid, Big B, Harsha Bhogle, Sunil Gavaskar, Sylvester and Rahul DaCunha, Shobha De, Sania Mirza (all associated by being featured on Amul ads)and so on.
Only small complaint, I wanted to see more Amul hoardings in the book. I was quite unsatiated and was left wanting for more.
This book should be bought not only because of its merit but also since the proceeds of the book will be used to honor Class X students.
Tongue in cheek humor. I chuckled, giggled and laughed reading it. By the end, fell in love with the little girl in polka dots all over again.
This book contains selection of classic Amul hoardings, series of vignettes coupled with few essays. It covers the inside story of the creation of the ads. Anecdotes from a lot of celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Harsha Bhogle,Rahul Dravid, Alyque Padamsee, Sania Mirza, Shobaa De, Rajdeep Sardesai, Cyrus Broacha and Shyam Benegal. Their thoughts on the Amul campaign and their favourite hoardings.
I loved Shyam Benegal and Alyque Padamsee's essay. How Shyam Benegal raised million rupees to produce the Documentary, Manthan.
However, I found few of the essays to be mundane. Having said that, the book is still great. I think authors have done an excellent job with the designing and the concept.
Humorous and nostalgic. Everyone should grab a copy !
PS: My favorite- " Sabke Paul khol diya ! Predictably the best " :D
If you have grown up watching Amul put up a crazy new billboard week after week, You definitely want to know what goes behind the machine that brings smile to your face during morning commute.
Amul's India is a compilation of all there is to know about Amul's advertising strategy. And yes, not to forget its got bits of information about the man himself, Dr.Kurien.
This is the history of Amul through the eyes of creative ad people at the India's largest food brand, Amul.
A collection of Amul hoardings, interviews with the creative genius, and a glimpse into the history of Amul. This is something every Amul d=fan should read!
Captivating. The book traces the evolution of the most trusted and loved brand in India and draws parallels with the evolution of the nation itself. The advertising and the marketing strategy, the moppet, the most topical themes, the catchiest of phrases and taglines, the deadlines, the stance taken over the years and the very clever humor- all hit the perfect note for the longest running campaign which has never lost its charm. The marketing professionals might long for finer details but still what is served here is Utterly Butterly Delicious.
A beautiful little book tracing the stories of the Amul topicals. The book doesn't present all the topicals from the previous decades. Instead, it is interestingly presented as personalities from the ad world and the social diaspora talk about what makes the Amul moppet special. In particular, watch out for the writings/interviews of Amitabh Bachchan, Harsha Bhogle, Shyam Benegal and Alyque Padamsee.
A heart warming look at India through the decades from the eyes of the Amul hoardings, this book will bring smiles to you on lazy weekend afternoons.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Every week I also look out for new hoardings. The hoardings are just too good. The story of Amul is really inspiring. Companies should look up to Amul. It all started from just a small town in Gujarat. And, from that it traversed to the whole of India & revolutionized like crazy! It's a must read for all.
A good book for those who are interested to know more about the making of Amul Butter girl and the people behind it.Nicely designed and value for money book. The content is well presented both visually and in text.I will say it is a must read for those interested in advertising and communications field in India.
A glorious and diverse account of the evolution of India's most favourite and witty brand. Dr. Kurien has gifted India what it needed and thanks to the prime minister and the government to support his cause. All the testimonials mentioned in the book only glorify the beautiful marriage between Amul and daCunha communications. India has only benefited from this brand. Great read.
A very good read. This is not a one time read book, it has to be taken whenever you are stressed or needs some relaxations. I would have liked a hardbound edition on the book but the paperback edition is good too.
A great book ... on perhaps one of the greatest brand mascots of all time. Truly fall in love with all the design. The DaCunha guys wanted a cheap but beautiful coffee table book and they've succeeded.
This is a wonderful, wonderful book for anyone who loves Amul. This is a particularly good read for those in advertising. It features some of Amul best works and is just a really great coffee table book that you will not regret buying.
This one would surely be a trip down the memory lane for most who have grown up on the Amul girl's amusing antics and daily dose of Utterly Butterly Delicious Amul .
A fantastic read and super collection of the finest and most memorable Amul hoardings till date. With loads of guest articles to boot, it is a nice compendium if the last 50 years of Amul and India.
Utterly Butterly Delightful book.A copy that on any given day, if we flip the pages would bring a smile across our face...Worth every rupee. Thanks Amul.. :)