MxMIndia

Tag: R S Sodhi

  • In 2012, Amul sponsored the Indian contingent at the London 2012 Olympic Games

    Amul appointed official sponsor of the Indian contingent to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

    By A Correspondent

     

    Amul has announced its sponsorship of the Indian contingent at the biggest multi-sport event – the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The contract was signed by Shri Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General, Indian Olympic Association IOA and Shri R S Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) on June 29, 2016. Amul is now the Official Sponsor of the Indian team.

     

    In 2012, Amul sponsored the Indian contingent at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Amul has always been an avid supporter of various sporting events, may it be the Asian Games, Commonwealth games or other sports.

     

    To be inaugurated on August 5 in Brazil, the Rio Olympics will play host to the largest Indian contingent ever, with close to 100 sportspersons being a part of it. Amul aims to engage with youth and leverage the connection between the energy of milk and sports. It is the main ingredient for the fitness of any sportsman. Hence it is an appropriate association for Amul.

     

    Announcing Amul’s support, R S Sodhi, MD, GCMMF said, “Amul is committed to strengthening the Olympic movement in India and encourage young generation from all over the country to take up Olympic sports. I take great pleasure and pride in announcing our sponsorship of the Indian contingent to the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Explaining the foundation of this association, he said that milk is nature’s original energy drink and plays a pivotal role in building the physical and mental strength of the athletes. Nutritious dairy diet is an important part in the diets of athletes around the world. Participation in Olympics is the aspiration of every athlete and with the kind of investments made by our country in this arena to select, nurture and train the best athletes, we are confident that Indian contingent will deliver the best ever performance in the Olympic games and make our country proud.  Further, he said that this association will help in engaging the kids and youth so that they can enjoy a healthy life.”

     

    Amul will launch a series of advertising campaigns for milk and various dairy products to promote this association in the coming months. Amul has embarked upon an “Eat Milk with Every Meal” campaign to highlight the importance of milk and dairy products like cheese, yogurt, butter, ghee, paneer etc. in the daily diet. Amul Doodh Pita hai India, one of Amul’s most loved campaign, will be used to cheer the Indian contingent.  India is the largest producer of milk in the world and Amul is not only India’s but Asia’s largest milk brand.

     

    Praising Amul’s support to the Indian contingent of Rio Olympics, Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General, Indian Olympic Association said, “I would like to thank Mr. RS Sodhi and Amul family for coming on board as the sponsor for our Indian contingent for Rio Olympics. I am happy that Amul family is supporting Indian Olympic Association from past sometime. The preparations for our athletes are in full swing and till date more than 100 athletes have qualified for Rio Olympics, this is the largest ever contingent we are sending to Olympics”.

     

  • The campaign of 'Ek Chammach Amul Ghee' talks not only about having one spoonful of ghee which will add taste to the food but also about the health benefit

    Ghee is good for health, says FCB Ulka’s ‘Ek Chammach Amul Ghee’ campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    FCB Ulka has unveiled a campaign of ‘Ek Chammach Amul Ghee’ that talks not only about how a spoonful of ghee will add taste to the food but also about its health benefits.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, R S Sodhi, Managing Director, GCMMF said “Repositioning the brand – Amul ghee, and the category itself on the platform of wellness has been our strategic focus for more than a decade. While ghee has always been an integral part of our culture and tradition since thousands of years, we feel that our younger generation should be informed about the intrinsic goodness of ghee. As pan-India brand leaders in the category, it our responsibility to ensure growth of branded, packaged segment within ghee market, since it ultimately benefits consumers.

     

    Said Haresh Moorjani, Executive Creative Director, FCB Ulka: “As a nation of food lovers, we are always looking for that special ingredient that adds an extra something to our dishes.  Actually that special ingredient is as simple as a spoonful of Amul Ghee. The TVC talks about the virtues of this spoonful of Amul Ghee, adding an extra zing to food”.

     

    Credits:

    Creative Agency: FCB Ulka

    Chief Creative Officer: Satbir Singh

    Executive Creative Director: Haresh Moorjani

    Creative team: Deepti Gera, Varun Sharma

    Account Management: Sharon Picardo, Sagar Kabra, Shamima Pereira, Saumo Chatterjee

    Account Planning: Ruta Patel, Mubina Quraisshi

    Production House: Anonymous Films

    Director: Atul Manjrekar

    Producer: Smitha Baliga

     

  • The film captures a few dimensions where women are excelling like entertainment, sports & engineering

    FCB Ulka celebrates women power in new TVC

    By A Correspondent

     

    Today, more than ever before we see women at the forefront of myriad fields. The Indian woman is pushing her limits, redefining boundaries, and subsequently earning herself top position in everything she does & making her presence felt. Recognising this role of women in our lives, Amul has unveiled a new campaign celebrating the same.

     

    Women are now fiercely ambitious and are proving their mettle not only on the home front, but also in their respective professions. The campaign raises a toast to these women & portrays how milk energises them to go about their life and shine. The film captures a few dimensions where women are excelling like entertainment, sports & engineering.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, R S Sodhi, Managing Director, GCMMF said,“We are happy to demonstrate the role of women in the advancement of our society. In fact, Amul is a brand which has been built on women empowerment over the last 7 decades. Our campaign “AmulDoodh Pita hai India” is very popular across the country and we are confident that this creative will further propel the brand.”

     

    Haresh Moorjani, Executive Creative Director, FCB Ulka & creator of the earlier campaigns on Amul Milk, said “Historically we have seen that there is a strong association between a country’s progress & how it treats its women. Today, if we are where we are it is solely because of the role women play in our lives – at home &outside. Taking this forward the Amul Milk campaign is an ode to the Indian woman captured in the track that says Aageaagebadtahai India. AmulDoodhPeetahai India!”

     

  • A newer version of Amul's India is out. Presenting extracts – special articles by Rahul daCunha and Suhel Seth

    Utterly Butterly Amulicious

     

    Over the last 50 years, the Gujarat Cooperation Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) which owns the brand name Amul, has been presenting some memorable advertising in the form of topical hoardings. These have turned markers of contemporary issues and events.  A few years back, daCunha Communications and DYWorks came up with a book titled ‘Amul’s India’ capturing the best of the outdoor creatives. Last week, a revised and updated edition was released celebrating the topicals with comments from Amitabh Bachchan, Alyque Padamsee, Harsha Bhogle, Rahul daCunha, Rahul Dravid, Rajdeep Sardesai, Sania Mirza, Santosh Desai, Siddharth Kak, Shobhaa De, Shyam Benegal, Suhel Seth and Sylvester daCunha.

     

    Meanwhile, Amul has also launched a new app “Amul World” which has all the Amul topicals created over the last 50 years. This app will soon be available for download on Android and Apple devices.

     

    At the release last week, R. S. Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) said, that “We had promised to release the updated edition at the time of launch of the first edition. It is an honour for us to have published the revised and updated edition of this book after the phenomenal print run of 1.2 lakh copies of the first edition. The Amul topical advertising campaign and our consistent advertising strategy has played a very pivotal role in the growth of brand Amul and we shall endeavor to continue our efforts.”

     

     

    Give us this day our daily ad!

     

    By Rahul daCunha

     

    Every day is a new day in the life of the Amul hoarding (or meme as it is now referred to on social media). My job is two-fold — to shepherd the brand, and to spoof the many events that emerge from this Pandora’s Box called India. Seven thousand billboards and twenty-one years later, I have never been tired of saluting and spoofing the numerous facets and faces of our colourful country.

     

    For 50 years, our little Amul moppet, or the Amul girl with her polka-dotted dress and bow, has commented on all things amusing, annoying, absurd and alarming. And unfailingly, India waits for what she has to say with expectation and excitement.

     

    The human race, certainly the Indian human race, has a newly-acquired, collective case of Attention Deficit Disorder. What holds good as a piece of news one day, is irrelevant the next morning. Plus everything is chatworthy news today – take male chauvinist politicians, mass hysteria Bollywood, multi-crore scams, messy scandals, Mamata Banerjee’s diatribes or M.S. Dhoni’s decisions, both follicular and on-field.

     

    In the ’60s and ’70s, daCunha Associates created one hoarding a month. By the ’90s, it had increased to one a week. This year, we went daily.

     

    One new Amul ‘topical’ goes online and outdoor every day. Every morning my creative team — comprising Manish Jhaveri, Jayant Rane and I, connect on what’s on the Amul menu for the day. Is it an upmarket issue that will tickle the fancy of snot-nosed south Bombay? Or a Bollywoodised titbit that will satisfy celebrity-obsessed north Bombay? Or is it a Laloo Prasad witticism that will amuse the Hindi belt? Or has Rajnikanth’s new movie galvanised the south of India? Or has TV show Game of Thrones thunderstruck the Twitter generation?

     

    There are five Indias today – Mumbai, the Hindi belt, the East, the South and social media. Mumbai is a country by itself. The East is passionate about Durga Puja, Dada, Mishti Doi and Didi. The North is political and paparazzi-obsessed. The Hindi belt is focused on Yadav Senior and Junior’s shenanigans. And Facebookers and Twitterers are just obsessed with the flavour of the moment.

     

    In the 21 years that I’ve been campaign custodian, we’ve poked fun and parodied, but never viciously. Our spoofs and satirical messages have been welcomed sportingly by both politicians and popular figures, actors and anarchists. Just occasionally, lampooning has led us to the doorstep of the legal process.

     

    Rahul daCunha is Managing Director and Creative Head of da Cunha Communications, the ad agency that creates the Amul outdoor billboards.

     

     

     

    A For Awesome

     

    By Suhel Seth

     

    Very few brands across the world speak a borderless,  timeless and ageless language. Amul is one of them. Very few brands across the world create both a sense of entitlement and waiting. Amul is one of them. Very few brands touch the soul of consumers in an enduringly consistent manner: reflecting the pathos of an evolving society: Amul is one of them.

     

    The history of India can be told in a three-part voluminous tome or can be absorbed simply by going over the advertising that Amul has created. It is however, as much the history of Amul. Just like the India we see today, ever-evolving; ever brushing aside challenges which may seem insurmountable and yet holding a place of pride in the comity of nations, Amul too has had a story of inspirational zeal. One which is more than about a brand that delights us on dining tables. It is a brand that we never seem detached from.

     

    Over the years, Amul has represented not just innate quality and the vision and coming together of millions of dairy farmers but equally, through its advertising, Amul as a brand has both been a chronicler and a mirror to each one of us. In our lives of drudgery, Amul helps us smile; it helps us laugh away the worries and at times it helps us celebrate the enormity of Indian achievement. It also, at times, very poignantly shows us the way.

     

    For me personally, Brand Amul has been a part of my growing up: not in terms of chronology but equally in an insightful way, capturing the trials and tribulations of a nation that India is. It has always been something that I have looked up to. The advertising that Amul has unleashed over decades is not something that is designed to sell butter. It is indeed designed to help reflect on who we are. I have always believed that Amul’s advertising is not about selling more butter or more milk: it is about helping the young and the old understand the India we are creating: either wilfully or as mere spectators. I have often said to those who care to listen: the biggest civilian honour one can hope to attain in India is to be on an Amul hoarding or in an Amul press advertisement.

     

    Because in a strange way, Amul speaks for every Indian. Amul is infact, many a time, the voice of a multitude of voiceless Indians and herein lies its eternal charm and its enduring appeal. The reason is not because of what it says. But equally about how and why it says it. There are moments in time when silence is not a virtue. That is when Amul’s advertising speaks for millions. There are equally times when in the din we fail to separate the good from the not-so-good. It is at that time that the advertising of Amul helps us set the right course.

     

    Amul’s advertising is a barometer for what India has been, what India is and what India is likely to be. Which is why Amul the brand has morphed into Amul the being.

     

    Suhel Seth is a former Amul baby and now the Managing Partner of Counselage India

     

     

     

    Footnote:

    Excerpted with permission of the authors from:

    Amul’s India

    Based on 50 Years of Amul Advertising

    by daCunha Communications

    (Revised & Updated Edition)

    HarperCollins India

    Rs 299

     

  • Amul has become the Official Sponsor of the Indian team in the category of Dairy products

    Amul to sponsor 2014 Commonwealth & Asian Games

    By A Correspondent

     

    Amul has announced its sponsorship of the Indian contingents to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, Incheon, South Korea by signing a MoU with the Indian Olympic Association. The MoU was signed by Shri Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General, IOA and Shri R S Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) in a function graced by Shri Rakesh Gupta, Joint Secretary and Anil Khanna, Treasurer, Indian Olympic Association.

     

    Amul has become the Official Sponsor of the Indian team in the category of Dairy products.

     

    R S Sodhi

    Announcing Amul’s support for the Indian contingent to both these prestigious sporting events, R S Sodhi, Managing Director GCMMF said “Amul is committed to strengthening the support to sports in various forms and encourage young generation from all corners of the country to take up sports. I take great pleasure and pride in announcing our sponsorship of the Indian contingent to the XX Commonwealth Games and the XVII Asian Games.”

     

    Explaining the rationale of this association, he said that milk is nature’s original energy drink and plays a pivotal role in building the physical and mental strength of the athletes. Amul has embarked upon an “Eat Milk with Every Meal” campaign to highlight the importance of milk and dairy products like cheese, yogurt, butter, ghee, paneer etc. in the daily diet. India is the largest producer of milk in the world and Amul is not only India’s but Asia’s largest milk brand. Further, he said that this association and activities around it will help in engaging the kids and youth so that they can enjoy a healthy life.

     

    Amul has associated with sports events like football, Cricket World Cup and Formula 1 to engage the youth. Sodhi mentioned that the Amul had sponsored the Indian contingent to the London Olympic Games in 2012 which was India’s most successful Olympics. With the kind of investments made by our country to select, nurture and train the best athletes, we are confident that Indian contingents  to the forthcoming Commonwealth and Asian Games will deliver their best ever performances and make our country proud.

     

    Lauding Amul’s support to the Indian Olympic contingent, Shri Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General, IOA said “This support to the Indian sports will go a long way and further strengthen the bond between Amul and IOA and leave a longer lasting impact on the sports lovers and sports persons”.

     

    Amul will launch a series of advertising campaigns for milk and various dairy products to promote this association in the coming months.

     

    The XX Commonwealth Games will be held at Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to August 3 and the XVII Asian Games scheduled to be held at Incheon, South Korea from 19th Sept- 4th October, 2014.

     

  • At the recently conducted World Dairy Innovation Awards 2014 during the 8th Global Dairy Congress at Istanbul, Amul bagged the best marketing campaign for the campaign

    FCB Ulka’s campaign for Amul bags award at Istanbul

    By A Correspondent

     

    Given its stature as the largest milk brand in India, Amul has undertaken the initiative to educate the Indian consumer about the goodness of milk and milk products and encourage consumption. With this objective, it has conceived the ‘Eat milk with every meal’ campaign that has been created by FCB Ulka.

     

    The press and digital campaign brings alive the nutritional benefits of various dairy products, be it milk, butter, paneer, ice cream or even ghee. The campaign started in July 2013 in national and regional press, comprising of publications like The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Telegraph, Deccan Chronicle and The Hindu. Simultaneously the campaign was launched online on Facebook. Later a dedicated website www.amul.com/eatmilk was also launched for better interaction with the consumers. The campaign was designed by FCB Ulka Advertising.

     

    At the recently conducted World Dairy Innovation Awards 2014 during the 8th Global Dairy Congress at Istanbul, Amul bagged the best marketing campaign for the campaign, which was received by KM Jhala, Chief General Manager, GCMMF.

     

    The other finalists in this category were Quench (US) for its Turkey Hill Dairy blog ‘The Ice Cream Journal’, Saputo (Canada) for Milk 2 Go Sport – Dufour-Lapointe Sisters, Muller Dairy (UK) for the Muller Rice Tasty B Campaign, and Cayenne (Austria).

     

    According to the Global Dairy Congress, the judging panel considered almost 160 entries from 30 countries.

     

    RS Sodhi
    Nitin Karkare

    R S Sodhi, Managing Director GCMMF Ltd. said that “expansion, innovation and brand building are the three pillars of Amul’s strategy to achieve the growth. We are glad that our efforts are being recognized at the global level.”

     

    “We are delighted that GCMMF has won the best marketing campaign award from over 160 entries from 30 countries. The simplicity of the message – eat milk with every meal, has led to its universal appeal- with the consumers and the jury,” said Nitin Karkare, Chief Operating Officer, Mumbai, FCB Ulka.