The Amul girl continues to hold a mirror to the society, one pun at a time.
She's hit a half century, with her wit and humour, without a wrinkle.
The blue haired moppet in her trademark red polka dotted frock, synonymous with Amul butter, first made an appearance on outdoor hoardings 50 years ago and is still going strong. "Sometimes the
purana zamana like the Taj Mahal can never grow old and the Amul girl can never grow old," says Ad Guru Alyque Padamsee.
Speaking to NDTV, creative head and owner, daCunha Communications, Rahul da Cunha said, "50 years is incredible and kudos to the client who has, you know, stayed with us and not asked for a change. That kind of backing is rare."
In an era where brands, mascots and taglines can change faster than you blink, she's endured, going from witty one-liners once a month to almost five a week. "Cricket, politics and Bollywood are three of our favourite subjects," he says.
"Taboo tends to be religion....not so much about gods, but godmen."
The Amul girl had a few controversies to boot, when former BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya threatened to sue them for writing "Dalmiya
mein kuch kala hai" or when the Shiv Sena threatened to attack their office for punning on
Ganpati Bappa Morya, changing it to '
Ganpati Bappa More Ghya' (have more).
So whats the secret of this 'utterly butterly' ageless girl, we wonder. "I realized it now" laughs Rahul da Cunha, "the family is like - there is no holiday anymore, even if one is out of the country one is still WhatsApping, looking for Wi-Fi, yeah but our life is 24x7."
But that 24x7 readiness is the reason the Amul girl is the stuff of legends.
Ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar says, "She makes a comment on social life, on politics, on everything, she is free to comment as long as it's simple, clever and as long as she speaks the truth."
The Amul girl continues to hold a mirror to the society, one pun at a time.