A look back at the legacy of Sylvester daCunha, the man behind Amul’s 'Utterly Butterly' girl

The creator of the eternal Amul girl, Sylvester daCunha, passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday night.

He was in his 80s and is survived by his wife Nisha, their son, and ad-master Rahul daCunha. He was the late Gerson daCunha’s (advertising genius) brother, according to IANS.

Leaders from all spheres of society sent their condolences and prayers, especially Amul, the largest dairy company in India.

The departure of daCunha, according to Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd’s managing director Jayen Mehta, was a significant loss to the advertising sector.

“He is the man behind the Amul girl. He has been part of Amul’s advertising for six decades. Obviously, Amul owes a lot to him for the entire branding he gave to Amul and giving this Amul girl to the world and making it the world’s longest advertising campaign with a single character,” Mehta said in a tweet.

Very sorry to inform about the sad demise of Shri Sylvester daCunha, Chairman of daCunha Communications last night at Mumbai
A doyen of Indian advertising industry who was associated with Amul since 1960s. The Amul family joins in mourning this sad loss @RahuldaCunha

ॐ Shanti 🙏 pic.twitter.com/cuac1K6FSo

— Jayen Mehta (@Jayen_Mehta) June 21, 2023

Mehta claimed that daCunha left behind a legacy of advertising standards that had endured for 60 years.

“That is the character and calibre of the great man. His contribution to the industry and the marketing world is that he showed them that brands could be built with the trust of clients,” Mehta said.

Also read: Utterly Butterly… But Where? Is India facing a shortage of Amul Butter?

Sylvester daCunha’s legacy

The Anand-based Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) assigned their account to the advertising firm known as Advertising and Sales Promotion (ASP) in 1966, which created a mascot with large eyes, a red polka dot dress, matching ribbons, and red shoes.

According to the book Amul’s INDIA 3.0, daCunha, who was then the manager at ASP, intended to develop a mascot with the goal of positioning it among mothers and kids.

“Purely the Best” used to be Amul Butter’s slogan. DaCunha decided it was necessary to change the phrase to a more memorable one. Therefore, daCunha’s wife Nisha intervened with “Utterly Amul,” to which the former afterwards added “Butterly” to become “Utterly Butterly Amul.”

A young girl would serve as the brand’s face, and daCunha described his vision to the late art director, visualiser, and cartoonist Eustace Fernandes, who created the Amul girl, according to MoneyControl.

The mascot made her public debut on a few lamppost signs in Mumbai, where her catchphrase was “Give us this day our daily bread: with Amul butter.”

Notably, Dr Shashi Tharoor, a former international civil servant who is now a politician and author, and his family have a connection to the Amul Girls because his sisters Shobha and Smitha were the first to be depicted as Amul infants, as per Deccan Herald.

DaCunha’s contribution to the Amul girl’s current status as a symbol of memorability and nostalgia in the world of Indian advertising is crucial.

The Amul Girl continues to win people over with her ironic humour and comments on everything under the Sun.

He came up with this ad about a subject that doesn’t need the client’s consent. He won the client’s respect and trust. The funny campaign would address any topic under the sun while featuring celebrities, politicians, and athletes, and occasionally even touch upon contentious issues. Clients’ naïve faith in this firm, however, led to the creatives being approved without the client’s knowledge. Mehta noted that this was exceptional not just in India but also for the entire advertising sector and that his son Rahul carries on the tradition for all Amul brands, according to The Hindu.

DaCunha established daCunha Communications in 1969, continuing the tradition of the company and the mascot. Their campaigns like “Party, Patni or Woh?” and “British Errways” and others are notable.

Also read: Milk Wars: Now it’s Amul vs Aavin in Tamil Nadu. The controversy explained

Amul’s m****oment marketing

Amul Girl is a popular figure on social media today and has a strong point of view. The animation can fit into any event in India’s public life thanks to a sophisticated marketing strategy and strong use of puns, making Amul the topic of the week.

“The Amul girl is a brand identity. Amul uses moment marketing effectively and efficaciously,” according to Shavon Barua, an independent brand adviser and former chief client officer of the advertising agency PHD India, who spoke with ThePrint.

Moment marketing is characterised as “a promotional technique based on trending news, events, or instances; used primarily by brands on social media and digital platforms to gain traction and benefits brand awareness and sales.”

Given its dominance over the Indian consumer, Amul barely needs help on the sales side, but because of clever moment marketing, it has managed to maintain a continual presence in its audience’s cultural consciousness. Every Amul animation seeks to remind viewers of the company.

“At some point, I think dad realised that just talking about butter wouldn’t sustain itself for long. So he hit on this idea of social commentary. At a certain point, it went from commenting on one topic a month, or every two months, to what we do now — which is literally looking at a topic almost every day,” said ad person Rahul daCunha in an interview with Muse. The younger daCunha was in charge of designing the Amul Girl’s present avatar.

Condolences flowed in

The Hindu quoted former Amul MD and current head of Indian Dairy Association (IDA) RS Sodhi as saying, “The man who created the legendary, longest-running campaign and the ageless positioning of ‘Utterly Butterly Delicious’ to Amul Butter. Farmers will remember Shri daCunha for building India’s biggest brand for them.”

Lloyd Mathias, angel investor and corporate leader, tweeted, “Sorry to hear about the passing on of Sylvester daCunha, Advertising legend & founder of daCunha Associates. He was the man behind the AMUL girl in 1967 & brother of the late Gerson DaCunha,” and extended his condolences to daCunha’s wife Nisha and son Rahul.

Sorry to hear about the passing on of Sylvester daCunha, Advertising legend & founder of da Cunha Associates. He was the man behind the AMUL girl in 1967 & brother of the late Gerson DaCunha. Deepest condolences to Mrs. Nisha da Cunha & son Rahul. May he rest in eternal peace. pic.twitter.com/GrObE8BaIp

— Lloyd Mathias (@LloydMathias) June 21, 2023

According to The Hindu, Shailendra Raj Mehta, President and Director, MICA said, “Sylvester daCunha created one of the most memorable, long-lasting yet ever fresh icons of India — the Amul girl. We have laughed with her and also laughed till tears streamed out. She has had a witty take on the all the social, political and cultural headlines of the day for five decades. Through her, Sylvester lives on.”

Pawan Singh, General Manager-Marketing at Amul India, paid his tributes to the legend in a LinkedIn post. He wrote, “Very sad to learn that  Sylvester daCunha, the legend of the Indian advertising world, is no longer amongst us.  It was an honour to have learnt the art of brand communication and advertising, from him over nearly 3 decades….along with the legendary Dr Verghese Kurien, it was daCunha who had initiated our immortal, iconic topical campaign in 1966, which is one of longest continuously running advertising campaigns in the world. This campaign scaled new heights, moved seamlessly from OOH to print, TV and then digital & social media, enhancing its reach and popularity across multiple generations.”

With inputs from agencies

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