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Once Upon A Time | Advertising
Utterly Butterly
Iconic
She’s a little girl of 54, and she will never age. The Amul mascot has gone beyond
butter to become an indelible part of Indian life, writes Prabhakar Mundkur
“Amul is the answer to your wishes, utterly India went from a milk deficient nation to
butterly delicious”. I can still hum the a milk surplus one thanks to Dr Kurien,
first radio jingle first created for Amul and achieved the remarkable feat of making
butter, now long forgotten by everyone. I India the largest milk producer in the
was anxious during my trip to Anand in world. He also made a great success of the
the winter of 1977. I was taking a trip with cooperative movement which until then was
Sylvester da Cunha (one of India’s original riddled with politics and vested interests.
mad men in the world of advertising), But the great innovation for Amul was
Managing Director of Da Cunha Associates, that India, unlike other countries, had
the ad agency for Amul, and not looking mainly buffalo milk rather than cow milk.
forward to the early-morning flight to And skimmed milk powder had never been
Baroda which meant I would need to reach made from buffalo milk so when Dr Kurien
the airport at 4.30 am. supervised this process, India became the
This was my first job in advertising and first country to do so because technology
somehow Sylvester had already instilled a was available only for making skimmed
fear into me, common with young trainees milk powder from cow’s milk. Later,
in their first job. From the Baroda airport we making cheese from buffalo milk was also
were to take a taxi to Anand. I was overcome considered a first.
by the awe of meeting with Dr Kurien. For a Dr Kurien had realised that the buffalo
young advertising trainee a few months old, lactates more in winter, producing an
it was overwhelming to meet a man of Dr oversupply of milk during the winter
Kurien’s towering stature. months. Making other milk products
Dr Verghese Kurien, better known as the like skimmed milk powder, cheese, etc
Father of the White Revolution, brought was a dire necessity to prevent the excess
dignity and fame to the concept of social supply of milk in winter from getting
entrepreneurship when it was not yet wasted. Kurien established the GCMMF
fashionable to be a social entrepreneur. (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Manufacturers
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #17 | NOVEMBER 2020 59
