Amul's India - 50 years of advertising.

Amul emerged as an offshoot of the Indian freedom movement, to give poor farmers the best returns for their milk by eliminating middlemen. Since then, it has grown into a national brand that is respected and trusted in every corner of the country. The concept "Taste of India", the Amul moppet, and the consistent advertising strategy have all contributed to the Amul success story.

This project portrays how an endearing moppet and her tongue-in-cheek humour helped a Milk Producers' Co-operative create a White Revolution. It traces how Amul evolved as a brand by commenting on the popular political and social culture of India over the past four decades. Its topical, humourous and memorable hoardings continue to delight generations of Indians.

From popular "Saas-bahu" soaps to Sports, from power cuts to Politics, Amul advertisements cover everything.

DaCunha Communications has been a long-time partner of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) and is the creator of the Amul hoardings. Sylvester DaCunha is the chairman of this company, who co-created the Amul butter hoarding campaign in 1966, heralding the birth of the longest-running outdoor campaign of all time. DY works has partnered Amul over the years through brand creation and rejuvenation.

This project is a chronicle of India through the eyes of the naughty, cuddly, innocent and smart Amul girl.

The first ever display showed the bubbly little girl praying by her bedside.

The Amul campaign tells the stories of India, a hoarding at a time. The hoardings are markers to the "popular" history of India and have been followed by fans for decades.

On the immensely popular TV show based on the Ramayana.

Seemingly ageless, this long running campaign has captivated fans across all ages.

On Shahrukh Khan's famous movie 'Swades'

On 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', an immensely popular show anchored by Mr. Amitabh Bachchan.

On Arundhati Roy winning the Booker Prize for The God of Small Things, thus becoming the first Indian woman writing in English to receive the award.

Dr. Verghese Kurien is the founder of the GCMMF and the brain behind the development and success of the brand Amul. He is known as the father of the White Revolution in India and the architect of "Operation Flood", which was the largest Dairy Development Programme in the world. Dr. Kurien feels that the Amul girl has given the brand the image of a precious, priceless product that the consumer can trust completely.

For nearly fifty years now, the Amul billboard has watched over India, punctuating its progress with wry observation, heartfelt tribute, sly comment and the occasional controversial slip. Its relationship with the country has been unique: unlike the newspaper, which offered a daily account of all important events, the Amul billboard was more selective, choosing the events it highlighted with more care.

Tracing Amul's journey through the decades is in many ways akin to tracing India's journey, albeit through a specific and special vantage point.

1970s-mid 1980s: Between the 1970s and the coming of economic reform in the mid-1980s, the Amul billboard documents the disconnected concerns of a small group; a surfeit of spectacularly trivial occasions are paid tribute to.

Amul's delicious response to the world's first test tube baby in 1984.

1985-mid 1990s: The Amul billboard covers the beginning of liberalization and the change in the political discourse. Focus on politics, international affairs and aspects of economic reform took centre stage. A growing influence of popular culture was seen, with many references about cinema and television.

Amul's take on the Bofors Scandal that rocked the Rajiv Gandhi government.

Delicious and very apt jibe at Narasimha Rao over his alleged involvement with a pickle baron.

Post 1991: The twin forces of political empowerment of a new class as well as the assertive expansion of the world inhabited by the middle class can be seen clearly through the prism of Amul ads. The portrayal of the politician as 'villain' begins to emerge with force at this time, with many references to a series of political scandals and controversies. The tone becomes edgier and the hoardings show an increasing comfort with sharper barbs. Popular culture becomes one of the primary modes through which change is experienced.

A hoarding on the launch of Zen by Maruti in the 1990s.

American Fast Food giant KFC had teething problems when it launched in India.

After 2000: The movement towards the 'popular' becomes increasingly pronounced as a very significant proportion of messages draws from Bollywood and television. The engagement of the ads with the world of business and consumption continues to grow and they start becoming active parts of people's lived reality.

The Introduction of Value Added Tax.

A parody on the line - Incredible India. This hoarding referred to the Commonwealth Games Scam in New Delhi.

Detecting an alleged scam by Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, involving mi

Amul's take on alternative sexuality - This hoarding reflects the historic Delhi High Court judgement legalizing homosexuality in 2009.

On the popularity of the iPhone and the rise of social networking sites, Facebook and twitter.


Echoing the public anger against the long drawn-out trial of Ajmal Kasab.

Madame Tussauds paid homage to the legendary actor.

The Amul campaign is a very interesting vantage point from which to see the history of our lived experiences, particularly if we come from urban Middle class India. The billboards have, through the choice of their subjects, the breezy manner in which they are brought to our attention and by the very act of staying current, become a kind of moving timeline marking what we have considered significant at various points of time in our past. The great advantage of the Amul campaign is that it has never tried too hard to make a comment; it is by highlighting a subject with gentle humour and unerring timing that it allows us to think about the event, using our own perspective.

BOLLYWOOD:

Most of its popular stars have been widely featured in the Amul hoardings over the years. Several films too, have had separate Amul hoardings for themselves.

SCAMS:

A parody on Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's alleged
involvement in the 950-crore Bihar fodder scam.

The Indian ethos has always been to 'get rich quick'. An endearing quality when it works within the ambit of the law. Not so when public money is at stake - just 2011 alone witnessed countless scams: 2G, the Radia tapes, spot-fixing, Adarsh society, CWG, the list is endless. While there have been many serious scandals over the decades, Amul always managed to see the light-hearted side to them.

Former Union Minister Sukh Ram was implicated in the 1993 telecom scam case.

Spot-fixing - the new scam in cricket.


The 2G Telecom scam could well be India's largest scam ever, implicating several ministers.

A jibe on the popular practice of 'dynastic rule' in Indian politics, where young men and women follow in the footsteps of their politician parents.

World Events:

The International arena has always held great fascination for the Amul hoarding - from Kuwait to Khomeini and from Osama to Obama, they've always kept their ears to the globe!

In 1990, the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait.

In 1997, Hong Kong became part of China.

Barrack Obama became the first African-American president of the USA in 2008.

Amul's take on an octopus that acquired cult status at the FIFA 2010 World Cup.

An Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at President Bush, at a press meet in 2008.

External Affairs Minister of India, Mr. S. M. Krishna inadvertently read out
the speech of his Portuguese counterpart, at a UN Security Council meeting.

Cricket:

It might not have been the original intention but the now charming, now naughty, but always lovable faces on the Amul hoardings have done a fine job as chroniclers of their times. And they have done it in their own way; not with the weightiness or gravitas of a historian or with the rigour of an academic. Instead they have been tongue-in-cheek, have occasionally succumbed to that most journalistic of perils, the deadline, but at no stage have they stopped having fun.

And while not shying away from a jab at those in power, there is an unmistakable patriotism about it all. Amul is an Indian brand and it celebrates India. And like all Indians, Amul loves sport with a faintly discernible bias for cricket!

1994: Kapil Dev sets a new world record.

Sir Donald Bradman compares his
batting style to that of Sachin's.


Chennai Super Kings wins IPL 3, Amul celebrates with this hoarding.

My favourites:

Thus we see, that there isn't a single area that Amul has left unexplored. The most-loved brand of the country has captured the spirit of India through its hoardings with beguiling charm and no malevolence for nearly fifty years. The hoardings mean different things to different people. A few of my favourite hoardings are listed below -

The growing skyscrapers of Mumbai have caught Amul's attention.

The ever increasing price of fuel!

In November 1995, the name of the city of dreams was officially
changed from 'Bombay' to 'Mumbai'.

Amul pays a tribute to the extremely catchy and insanely
famous 'Kolaveri di' sung by South-Indian actor Dhanush.

Medha Patkar has won Amul's admiration for her resolve regarding
the Narmada Dam Project.

The life of the dead placed in the memory of the living...

Amul has paid tribute to some fantastic people who have contributed, each in his/her own brilliant way, to the glory of the country. India wouldn't be the same without them.

Amul bids farewell to the great showman, Raj Kapoor, who smiled his last in 1988,
and to the man who lived his life in 35mm - the legendary director, Satyajit Ray, who passed away in 1992.

Amul bids farewell to Dadamoni, and to George Harrison, the quiet Beatle. Both passed away in 2001.

Amul bids farewell to the Bollywood baddie Amrish Puri, who was one of life's good guys.

Amul bids farewell to Michael Jackson - the moonwalker.

Amul bids farewell to Nawab Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, cricketer and gentleman,
Shammi Kapoor, who danced and rocked his way into our hearts,
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi - the singer of singers,
and the evergreen Dev Anand, all of who passed away in 2011.

Unlike paintings or other works of art that you can gaze at many times and look for layers of meaning, Amul worked on hoardings, an outdoor medium where one has a few seconds at best to create an impact. Therein lies the genius of the Amul hoarding; around for so many years but rarely, if ever, bettered. The deliciously timed and appropriately cheeky messages are evocative of the lives people live and the mental universe they inhabit.
The story of Amul's India is also one of a country coming in touch with itself, even as it transforms beyond recognition. From a somewhat disconnected class living in a world of its own, we see a country create its own narrative, with its own distinctive language, its own set of heroes, its own set of issues, and do battle with its weaknesses. The river that is India flows on, and the brand that is Amul continues to give us a running commentary on what it sees, feels and experiences as it accompanies us on this glorious ride.