INDIAN MASCOTS
INDIAN MASCOTS Copuright Š 2017 Shuvam Jaiswal All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, withoutthe prior written permission of the copyright owner. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishe’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and withouta similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Under no circumstances may any part of this book be photocopied for resale.
Designed by: Shuvam Jaiswal Guided by: Sunil Gupte
Chhaap Digital Print Studio
Rs. 750
INDIAN MASCOTS by Shuvam Jaiswal
Copyright 2017 Shuvam Jaiswal
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shuvam Jaiswal was born and raised in the Kolkata, India. He is a graphic designer. He wrote this book for graphic design student and who are interested in the history of mascots. In 2010, He started writing a musical about the life of Satyajit Ray. That year, he was also blessed with a puppy named Bruno. He has since graduated college from Unitedworld Institute of Design, become a Graphic Designer, and started running 5 miles every day. He continues to write his exhaustive biography on Satyajit Ray.
CONTENTS 01
Air India’s Maharajah
(08-15)
The Maharajah began merely as a rich Indian potentate, symbolizing graciousness and high living. And somewhere along the line his creators gave him a distinctive personality: his outsized moustache, the striped turban and his aquiline nose.
05
7 UP’s Fido Dido (48-55) Fido Dido is a cartoon character created by Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose. Rose first developed the character in 1985, on a napkin in a restaurant.
02
Amul Girl (16-29) Amul girl refers to the advertising mascot used by Amul, an Indian dairy brand. The Amul girl is a hand-drawn cartoon of a young Indian girl dressed in a polka dotted frock with blue hair and a half pony tied up.
03
R.K. Laxman’s The Commom Man (30-37) The Common Man is a cartoon character created by Indian author and cartoonist R. K. Laxman. For over a half of a century, the Common Man has represented the hopes, aspirations, troubles and perhaps even foibles of the average Indian, through a daily comic strip.
04
Vodafone’s Zoozoo (38-47) ZooZoos are advertisement characters promoted by Vodafone India since the Indian Premier League Season 2 (IPL).
MAHARAJAH
10
INDIAN MASCOTS
AIR INDIA’s MAHARAJA
INTRODUCTION Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is owned by Air India Limited, a government-owned enterprise, and operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving 90 domestic and international destinations. The airline has its hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, alongside several focus cities across India. Air India is the largest international carrier out of India with an 18.6% market share. Over 60 international destinations are served by Air India across four continents. Additionally, the carrier is the third largest domestic airline in India in terms of passengers carried (after IndiGo and Jet Airways), with a market share of 13% as of May 2017. The airline became the 27th member of Star Alliance on 11 July 2014.
11
12
INDIAN MASCOTS
MAHARAJAH Air India’s mascot is the Maharajah. He may look like royalty, but he isn’t royal.’ These are the words of Bobby Kooka, the man who conceived the Maharajah. This now familiar lovable figure first made his appearance in Air India way back in 1946, when Bobby Kooka as Air India’s Commercial Director and Umesh Rao, an artist with J.Walter Thompson Ltd., Mumbai, together created the Maharajah. The Maharajah began merely as a rich Indian potentate, symbolizing graciousness and high living. And somewhere along the line his creators gave him a distinctive personality: his outsized moustache, the striped turban and his aquiline nose. What began as an attempt as a design for an inflight memo pad grew to take Air India’s sales and promotional messages to millions of travellers across the world.
All Suited Up! #Classic Welcoming tourister #Gentleman
AIR INDIA’s MAHARAJA
Today, this naughty diminutive Maharajah of Air India has become a world figure. He can be a lover boy in Paris, a sumo wrestler in Tokyo, a pavement artist, a Red Indian, a monk... he can effortlessly flirt with the beauties of the world. And most importantly, he can get away with it all. Simply because he is the Maharajah! He has completed 56 years and become the most recognizable mascot the world over. His antics, his expressions, his puns have allowed Air India to promote it’s services with a unique panache and an unmatched sense of subtle humour. In fact he has won numerous national and international awards for Air India for humour and originality in publicity.
Air India’s 68-year-old mascot, The Maharajah, may soon be replaced, or so it seems! Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reported to have suggested that the mascot be replaced by one representing ‘ aam admi’ . The figure of the Maharajah could be interpreted as a symbol of feudal power.
Sunbathing in Sydney #Luxury New Mascot #PMNarendraModi
13
14
INDIAN MASCOTS
MAHARAJAH’s JOURNEY
AIR INDIA’s MAHARAJA
15
GIRL
18
INDIAN MASCOTS
AMUL GIRL
INTRODUCTION Amul is an Indian dairy cooperative, based at Anand in the state of Gujarat, India. Formed in 1950, it is a brand managed by a cooperative body, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), which today is jointly owned by 3.6 million milk producers in Gujarat. The white revolution was spearheaded by Tribhuvandas Patel under the guidance of Sardar Patel and Verghese Kurien. As a result, Kaira District Milk Union Limited was born in 1946. Tribhuvan das became the founding chairman of the organization which he led till his last day of his life. He hired Dr. Kurien three years after the white revolution. He convinced Dr.Kurien to stay and help with the mission rest was history in the dairying industry. Amul spurred India’s White Revolution, which made the country the world’s largest producer of milk and milk products. In the process Amul became the largest food brand in India and has ventured into markets overseas. Amul products are now available in more than 60 countries in the world.
19
20
INDIAN MASCOTS
AMUL GIRL A much-loved icon of modern India, the deliciously witty Amul girl turns 50 this October. Since her inception in 1966, this cheerful blue-haired little moppet in a red polka-dotted dress has wowed the nation with her sometimes tongue-incheek, occasionally controversial and always enjoyable one-liners in billboard and print ads. One of India’s longest running ad campaigns, this is also probably the only ad campaign in the country with an unchanged theme and style for almost 50 years now. The Amul girl was created by Eustace Fernandes, the art director of DaCunha Communications in 1966, the same year the simple yet catchy phrase “Utterly Butterly” was coined by Sylvester’s wife, Nisha DaCunha.
Suarez has a knack for being in the limelight for the wrong reason. His ‘bite’ was perfect fodder for people at Amul.
Holders Spain were unceremoniously dumped out of the World Cup. Amul took the opportunity to take a dig at their footballing philosophy.
Netherland’s Robin Van Persie scored one of the goals of the tournament against the reigning champions Spain. This is pretty close representation of that goal.
AMUL GIRL
In 1966, DaCunha and Fernandes designed the mascot’s first public appearance on billboards. The cute image of Amul girl kneeling in prayer, with one eye closed and another on a pack of butter with the words, “Give us this day our daily bread with Amul Butter” got an immediate positive response from the public. However, DaCunha soon realised that there was only so much one could say about food. He decided to pitch the dairy brand’s ad campaign differently, in a way that would instantly connect with the public. In 1966, he released the Amul girl’s first topical ad. Titled “Thoroughbread”, the ad showed the Amul girl as a jockey holding a slice of bread during the horse race season. The feedback was again very positive.
21
22
INDIAN MASCOTS
Ads involving Jagmohan Dalmiya, Suresh Kalmadi, Satyam Computers and Subrata Roy also resulted in the agency being served legal notices, but in all these cases, the agency and Amul never relented. Helmed by Rahul DaCunha, copywriter Manish Jhaveri and illustrator Jayant Rane, the Amul girl ads have retained their fearlessness over the years. Under Jhaveri, the ad campaign also developed its unique style of vocabulary, with lots of puns and a colloquial flavour. He also brought in a new mix of regional and formal vocabulary that was loved by the public. Rane, on the other hand, has been painting the Amul ads painstakingly by hand for thirty years. Referring to scrapbooks compiled by previous teams, the illustrator ensures that he sticks to Amul girl’s trademark features – blue hair, chubby cheeks, wide eyes, no nose and long eyelashes – even while adding celebrity twists.
When Suresh Kalmadi had to serve time in jail, the sassy Amul came up with this!
AMUL GIRL
Half a century later, the Utterly Butterly Girl continues to peer down billboards, having had her say on everything happening in India for decades. To celebrate the Amul Girl’s golden jubilee anniversary, DaCunha Communications has released a coffee table book that tells the story of an evolving India as seen from the Amul girl’s eyes.
23
24
INDIAN MASCOTS
AMUL GIRL ILLUSTRATIONS
The 5-years ban on Shahrukh Khan from entering the Wankhede stadium was lifted in August 2015, two years earlier.
AMUL GIRL
In February 2014, Facebook announced that it will buy WhatsApp for $19 billion.
25
26
INDIAN MASCOTS
The Supreme Court of India in April 2014 created the ‘third gender’ status for transgenders, allowing them to avail equal opportunities in education and employment.
AMUL GIRL
In January 2015, President Obama visited India, first time since Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in. Several initiatives were announced and bilateral agreements were signed.
27
28
INDIAN MASCOTS
In July 2014, a reporter asked Maria Sharapova if she knew Sachin Tendulkar. “I don’t, said Sharapova cutly.
AMUL GIRL
Sarita Devi clearly dominating in her Boxing semi-final match in 2014 Asian Games. To everyone’s surprise, judges declared her opponent as the winner.
29
THE COMMON MAN
32
INDIAN MASCOTS
R.K. LAXMAN’s COMMOM MAN
INTRODUCTION Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Laxman (24 October 1921 – 26 January 2015) was an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He was best known for his creation The Common Man and for his daily cartoon strip, “You Said It” in The Times of India, which started in 1951. Laxman started his career as a part-time cartoonist, working mostly for local newspapers and magazines. While as a college student, he illustrated his elder brother R. K. Narayan’s stories in The Hindu. His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for The Free Press Journal in Mumbai. Later, he joined The Times of India, and became famous for The Common Man character.
33
34
INDIAN MASCOTS
THE COMMON MAN The Common Man is a cartoon character created by Indian author and cartoonist R. K. Laxman. For over a half of a century, the Common Man has represented the hopes, aspirations, troubles and perhaps even foibles of the average Indian, through a daily comic strip, “You Said It” in The Times of India. The comic was started in 1951. When Laxman began to draw cartoons in The Times of India, he attempted to represent different states and cultures in India. In the rush to meet deadlines, he began to draw fewer and fewer background characters, until finally he found only one remaining - the now-familiar Common Man. The Common Man generally acts as a silent witness to all the action in the comic. According to anthropologist Ritu Gairola Khanduri, “Clad in a dhoti and a plaid jacket, the puzzled Common Man is no dupe: his sharp observations miss no detail of the political circus.”
“Clad in a dhoti and a plaid jacket, the puzzled Common Man is no dupe: his sharp observations miss no detail of the political circus.”
R.K. LAXMAN’s COMMOM MAN
•
The Common Man featured in a commemorative postage stamp released by the Indian Postal Service on the 150th anniversary of the Times of India in 1988. It became one of the most recognised feature on The Times of India the largest-circulation English language daily broadsheet newspaper in the world.
•
The Common Man was the mascot for the low budget airline Air Deccan.
•
Salman Rushdie, who grew up in Bombay on a daily fare of Laxman’s pocket cartoons, mentions the Common Man in two of his books — his 1995 novel The Moor’s Last Sigh and his 2012 autobiography, Joseph Anton.
An 8 feet high bronze statue of “The Common Man” has been erected at the Symbiosis Institute, Pune in front of its Vishwabhavan building.
35
36
INDIAN MASCOTS
ARTWORKS
R.K. LAXMAN’s COMMOM MAN
37
ZOOZOO
40
INDIAN MASCOTS
VODAFONE’s ZOOZOO
INTRODUCTION Vodafone India, is an Indian subsidiary of UK-based Vodafone Group plc, the world’s second-largest mobile phone company, is a provider of telecommunications services in India with its operational head office in Mumbai. As of August 2016, Vodafone India has a market share of 18.42% with approximately 200 million subscribers and is the second largest mobile telecommunications network nationally after Airtel. Vodafone owns and operates networks in 26 countries and has partner networks in over 50 additional countries. Its Vodafone Global Enterprise division provides telecommunications and IT services to corporate clients in 150 countries. Vodafone has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of approximately £52.5 billion as of 10 February 2016, the eighth-largest of any company listed on the London Stock Exchange.
41
42
INDIAN MASCOTS
ZOOZOO ZooZoos are advertisement characters promoted by Vodafone India since the Indian Premier League Season 2 (IPL). ZooZoos are white creatures with ballooned bodies and egg heads who are used to promote various value added services of Vodafone. These characters are played by human actors in body suits. The ads were created by Ogilvy & Mather, the agency handling Vodafone advertisements. The ads were shot by Bangalore based Nirvana Films in Cape Town, South Africa. The ZooZoo idea was conceived by Rajiv Rao. He is also the mind behind the story lines and the name. The ads were shot by Prakash Varma and produced by Nirvana Films within a record time of 10 days. The pre-production work happened within a month and cost around 3 crores Indian Rupees.
VODAFONE’s ZOOZOO
The Zoozoos are small-bodied, thin women covered in layers of white fabric. Each facial expression is made of rubber and pasted on the actors to cut down on the time and cost for shoot. The effect was achieved by a variety of methods including choosing the right material for the body suits to ensure that there were no wrinkles when the characters moved, shooting the footage at lower framerates and keeping backgrounds simple in terms of details and the use of a neutral tone of grey. The sets were made larger than life to make the characters look small as the producers could not take children as the schedule of shooting was odd. The Zoozoos were split in two parts - the body and the head. The body was made using a special material stuffed with foam in some places (notably around the stomach) while the head was created using a harder material called Perspex.
43
44
INDIAN MASCOTS
CAMPAIGN
VODAFONE’s ZOOZOO
45
46
INDIAN MASCOTS
VODAFONE’s ZOOZOO
47
FIDO DIDO
50
INDIAN MASCOTS
FIDO DIDO
INTRODUCTION 7 Up (stylized as 7up outside of the U.S.) is a brand of lemon-lime flavored, non-caffeinated soft drink. The rights to the brand are held by Dr Pepper Snapple Group in the United States, and PepsiCo (or its licensees) in the rest of the world. The U.S. version of the 7 Up logo includes a red circle between the “7” and “Up”; this red circle has been animated and used as a mascot for the brand as Cool Spot. 7 Up was created by Charles Leiper Grigg, who launched his St. Louis–based company The Howdy Corporation in 1920. It was one of a number of patent medicine products popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Its name was later shortened to “7 Up Lithiated Lemon Soda” before being further shortened to just “7 Up” by 1936. Westinghouse bought 7 Up in 1969 and sold it in 1978 to Philip Morris, who then in 1986 sold it to a group led by the investment firm Hicks & Haas. 7 Up merged with Dr Pepper in 1988; Cadbury Schweppes bought the combined company in 1995. The Dr Pepper Snapple Group was spun off from Cadbury Schweppes in 2008.
51
52
INDIAN MASCOTS
FIDO DIDO Fido Dido is a cartoon character created by Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose. Rose first developed the character in 1985, on a napkin in a restaurant. They later stenciled Fido on T-shirts with the credo: “Fido is for Fido, Fido is against no one�. These T-shirts became very popular in New York. Fido Dido was licensed to PepsiCo in 1987, but the character did not receive much attention or popularity until the early 1990s, when he appeared on numerous products, particularly stationery. Later, he was replaced with Cool Spot as the brand mascot.
FIDO DIDO
In the early 1990s, Fido Dido had a comic strip in the teenage magazine YM. Fido Dido appears in the animated short Logorama, as a bystander. Fido Dido reappeared in the 2000s, and is still, as of April 2015, used on cans and advertising for 7 Up in countries worldwide. Fido Dido has been licensed to Pepsico and Slice brands in markets outside the United States; 7 Up, a product of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, is licensed to Pepsico for manufacture and distribution in markets outside the United States. Fido Dido is also used on PepsiCo’s Turkish soft drink Fruko.
53
54
INDIAN MASCOTS
POSTERS
FIDO DIDO
55
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to Sunil Gupte, guide of this book who enabled me to carry out the project successfully. I am thankful to Dean, who providing me with the opportunity and necessary funds and materials for the developement of this project. I am highly indebted to my parents for their constant encouragement and support during my studies.