Mumbai, June 12: In a country where cartoons are creating flutter among politicians, the iconic 'utterly butterly' girl survived half a century. The brand mascot of the Amul butter advertisements, for whom no subject is a taboo, has turned 50. The girl in her polka dotted dress, with a matching bow in her hair, has continued to charm with her tounge-in-cheek humour since 1960s.
To celebrate her 60th birthday, Amul and its creative partner DaCunha Communications have decided to launch a coffee table book on the iconic girl.
"The great thing about Eustace Fernandes' girl is the round face that can be adapted to be anybody. With Manmohan Singh, put a turban on her. It can be Indira Gandhi, give her a white streak. So it's a supremely adaptable creation," says Sylvester DaCunha, Founder-Chairman, DaCunha Communications.
In the initial years, the Amul campaigns projecting the girl were run mostly in print and radio. The first billboard campaign appeared in 1966 of the the girl kneeling in prayer, with one eye closed and another on the pack of butter with the words, "Give us this day our daily bread with Amul Butter." Her cuteness attracted the mind of the public instantly. Since then there was no looking back. For the last 50 years, she has been part of Amul's campaign on different current affairs issues.
But it's a difficult job to choose the best of her campaigns. Mr DaCunha says, "My favourite one - it used politics - Narasimha Rao, VP Singh and Mrs Gandhi, but it used a Hindi film reference. And India loves two things - politics and movies. So that was a good one."
Recent controversy surrounding cartoons on NCERT books or on newspapers has irked the liberal society, who alleges that putting a gag on such cartoons is against freedom of expression. However, political furore has not been able to dampen the spirit of the Amul girl. In the words of her creator, "There are controversies. But finally we live in a free country. And you can get away with stuff. I think if you go too much overboard, it's always tricky. So we try and keep it little bit under."
The coffee table book features articles by many who made it to the hoardings, including actor Amitabh Bachchan and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, who feels the book is a piece of history, rather than just a collector's item. Mr Bhogle says, "It's a library of sorts, isn't it? You see a hoarding, you remember it next week, and you remember the one after that. But when it comes together in a book, it becomes a history book, almost."
The book, a tribute to the Amul girl's wit, humour on the high and low points in India's recent tumultuous history will certainly evoke nostalgia. And, as Mr DaCunha says, will continue to charm everyone in coming years as well.
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