Amul continues to ride on anti-China advertising
2 min read 19 Jun 2020, 12:26 PM ISTThe anti-China series of ads have gained significant traction in terms of likes, comments and shares across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
PremiumNEW DELHI: Known for its quirky advertising, with social and political overtones, dairy brand Amul is cashing in on the anti-China sentiment in a spate of new ads to stay on the right side of the consumer.
The latest ad, created by Amul and its advertising agency daCunha Communications, features the Amul Girl saluting martyrs who lost their lives in the Galwan Valley clash, earlier this week, with the accompanying title ‘Martyrbhoomi’. Earlier, Amul had an ad featuring a visibly angry Amul girl dressed in army fatigues standing at the border as the text read ‘Cheeni kum karo’ (loosely translated as reduce the Chinese invasion).
The series started with an ad saying ‘Exit the dragon’ and ‘Amul Made in India’. It featured the Amul girl confronting a red dragon. The ad displayed logos of Indian brands as well as that of Chinese video-sharing mobile application TikTok. Amul shared the feature with the caption, “#Amul Topical: About the boycott of Chinese products..."
Noting that the Amul topicals capture the mood of the nation, RS Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the maker of the Amul brand of milk and dairy products said, "The Cheeni Kum is an old ad which was launched during Doklam conflict in 2017. Amul, as a brand, is neither against any nation not part of boycott Chinese products campaign. Amul topicals has no commercial objectives. Amul Butter Girl is owned by Indians and she comments on every socio-political issues over the years. She coveys the mood of average Indian."
The ad, which went viral on social media platforms, was briefly blocked by Twitter before being reinstated the same day. The anti-China series of ads have gained significant traction in terms of likes, comments and shares across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. They made a splash in print and in outdoor media through hoardings across various cities.
Rahul da Cunha, director, daCunha Communications, which has been handling Amul ads for over 25 years said they comment on what is hot, topical or trending in the country through Amul topicals.
"There has been an intense conversation around China on social media and it has taken various forms such as border issue, banning of Chinese products and soldiers being martyred," he added.
According Naresh Gupta, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Bang In The Middle, Amul is on the extreme side of the anti-China sentiment.
“I am not sure if that extreme side is a good thing to do. Specially when the government is trying to de-escalate the tension," he said.
Gupta recalled Amul doing similar campaign during the Uri surgical strike and revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir.
"In this case I would have liked that Amul didn’t fan the flames but then in charged times, jingoism is a good thing," he added.
