The Inkstained Mind: The Amul brand: The idea of thriving together

10 Sept 2012

The Amul brand: The idea of thriving together

Dr Verghese Kurien, called the "Father of India's White Revolution" demonstrated that socially inclusive enterprises can be economically competitive.

The most famous brand he helped build was Amul - a brand jointly owned by more than 3 million dairy farmers. The brand with its ubiqutious "Amul Baby" mascot, created in 1967, has also earned the distinction of being the longest running Ad Campaign in the world... And it's still going strong!

Bharat Dhabolkar, a writer on the Amul account, says that the campaign owed much to the freedom that Dr Kurien gave the agency. "He would not ask to see what we created. Even if he did not like something, he would just mention that; not ask us to change anything."

I guess that's what made Dr Kurien's 'co-operative partnership' model work so well: Each partner has a personal stake in the brand's success!

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WHAT IS ADVERTISING?

It's often called the world's second oldest profession.

But while the scope of the oldest one has changed little over time, the evolution in the way we communicate has had profound impact on Advertising.

In the ancient and medieval world, Advertising meant word-of-mouth. In the 1500s with the development of printing it became a 'paid public notice', disseminating the message to many. And it had Copy & Art.

Then came radio, TV, computer, cable TV, Internet, mobile phones, Internet on mobile, and it's still not done... Even what we perceive as 'change' is changing. Continuously.

So what is Advertising today?

Honestly, I don't know.

But I do know from a dozen years evolving with the business, that Advertising is most valued when it can make a tangible difference for the advertiser.

That has not changed. And probably won't.

UPDATE: Nothing's changed. But in a way, everything has.

As you see, my focus has shifted - evolved in a way - to a larger canvas. The shift or evolution was gradual, and may be have been discernable to the more observant reader.

While I was delving into the influence of media in society to better understand how perceptions are created, evolved and disseminated, I chanced upon a thread of knowledge that I frankly never knew existed.

My conclusion is that a deep pool of awareness and consciouness exists beyond the shallow narcissistic boundaries created by the convention view of social media and the Internet.

My aim is to send my readers down any path that can lead to this quenching pool.