Chutnification of Languages in Advertisement with special reference to Amul
The study of English falls under the two broad categories i.e English for academic purpose and English for Business purposes. Business English serves many purposes in legal, medical, tourism, commerce etc. Keeping in mind the cut throat competition and dog eat dog world, it is very hard to please the customers. Most of the advertising companies try to woo the customers by exploiting the medium of language. The advertisements on hoardings and television fascinate the viewers with the techniques of code mixing and code switching along with crisp and precise use of language.
The modern age is an age of marketing, advertisements and brand value. The fascinated world of the advertisements does not permit one to live in one’s ivory tower. The corporate world tends to create an image of its brands which fascinates and attracts all. It can’t be contended only by providing only quality service but it has also to reach to the customers for intimation through the means of advertisement. There are many factors which influence buyer’s choice. The below mentioned concept of advertisement makes it crystal clear:
Advertising is how a company encourages people to buy their products, services or ideas.An advertisement(or "ad" for short) is anything that draws good attention towards these things. It is usually designed by an identified sponsor,and performed through a variety of media.Ads appear on television,as well as radio,newspapers,magazines and as billboards in streets and cities.They try to get people to buy their products,by showing them the good rather than bad of their products...Advertisers use techniques to grab people's attention...Advertising can bring new customers and more sales for the business. It can be expensive but can help make a business make more money. (Wikipedia)
Amul, a colossal company in milk products, has best utilised the mean of advertisement to reach as many customers as possible. It has carved a niche in the field of advertising by miraculously using the English language. Its advertisement on hoardings keeps attracting the attention of all. It appeals to all due to its contemporary relevance which sometimes reach to literary heights. It has been rightly observed:
The Amul ads have witty one-liners which capture relevant events that have caught the fancy of the nation.This instantly creates a connect with the populace and helps them to identify with the brand in a surrogate manner. Apart from this, the humour is incisive and funny. The style of drawing is also very distinctive, and there is instant recognition of the brand without even needing to take a close look All in all,the Amul girl has become iconic in Indian advertising.(Pinge)
Sohini Mitter in her article ‘Utterly Butterly Amul Ad turns 50 years old’ quotes Alyque Padmsee, an ad legend who holds Amul’s advertisements in high esteem and asserts that the real India mirrors in the advertisements of Amul:
The real history of India is not contained in history books but in Amul's advertising campaigns. Amul's ads have become an essential part of the country's social heritage. Its lingo is everywhere. (Indian Express)
It has been observed that all the prominent figures from India and across the world have been featured in Amul’s advertisements. One can easily notice how the use of wit with reference to social relevance promotes a particular brand. It has been noted:
Advertisements for the Amul brand of butter (and other milk products) are special in that they have an underlying message in them which is not only synchronous with the current happenings but which also assert the goodness of Amul products. However, the underlying messages in most cases are so relevant and beautifully inflected that consumers can easily relate to the idea of the advertisements.This makes them popular and effective in the field of advertising. All present-day news-makers, from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama to actor Shahrukh Khan, cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar,and iconic footballer Diego Armando Maradona to even the social activist Anna Hazare have been featured by the advertisements. The Amul advertisements have often been described as some of the best Indian Advertising concepts because of their humour, (puns being their forte) and their mode of picking up current events to bring a point home. The following advertisements of Amul clearly show how the use of wit in reference to current affairs promotes the product. (Ganguly)
Most of the viewers disdain advertisements and often skip them. These advertisements may either bore them with their monotonous presentation or arouse a sense of disgust. But there are certain advertisements for which people eagerly wait for. It has been rightly commented:
Generally most of us tend to skip channels so as to avoid the advertisements that come on TV in between movies and serials; I am one of them too. Therefore whenever some asks me which my favourite ad is, I’m generally lost because I never really watch them.But then I have to answer something and I tell I have no special liking for any particular TV commercial but like the Amul ads that come every week in the print media. Strange!; for a person living in the 21st century where competition is intense between the various media – TV, internet, radio, mobile phones and print –and yet still choosing the one that comes on one of the oldest kinds of media. (Maria)
It is also probable that the advertisements endorsed by the celebrities may lend some trouble to the manufacturers for the controversies raised around them. It also costs the companies high amount. But the Amul girl, a creation of Sylvester da Cunha, has kept it free of controversies. The popularity of Amul girl paves a new way for the advertisement agencies as well as well companies to introduce such adds which have no celebrity in them. It also costs less to the companies. It has been rightly observed:
Celebrity endorsed advertisements have often seen companies shell out large sums of money for its marketing and advertising expenses. Also the company is often at risk if the performance of the celebrity becomes poor or if he/she gets caught in a scandal.By use of fictitious cha racters like the Amul girl or the ZooZoo as used by Vodafone, companies have innovated on the way advertisements can be portrayed and brought out a new form of advertising at lower costs.Such figures have also become a part and parcel of our daily lives like this simple Amul girl or the puppy in the Hutch advertisements.Amul ads have created a celebrity instead of using one!(Maria)
Amul has best employed the device of chutnification of language and has combined Hindi and English languages in the same add which resulted in Hinglish. It is this blending which amuses and fascinates the viewers. An attempt has been made here to analyse semantically some of the advertisements of Amul out of 8,000 bill boards it produced which is a record in itself.
The above ad refers to the film of Sharukhkhan’s `Swadesh’ which Amul adroitly uses as `Swad’ and `Dish’. The tagline in the advertisement suggests the liking of Amul from all the classes of the society. The `we’ invariably appeals to all of its viewers.
The Anna Hazare campaign also finds place in the Amul hoardings. The million expectations aroused by Anna Hazare’s campaign finds expression in the ad with `Hazare Khwaishein Aisi’
The above mentioned ad changes the spelling of `Loc’ (Line Of Control) to Lick which suggests the likings of Amul among the soldiers, residing at the border.
The bullying of the underworld finds place in Amul ad. The advertisers have changed the words from `Bollywood’ to `Bhai-llywood’ which presents the sharp sense of humour.
The spectacular performance of Sachin Tendualkar has been well appreciated by Don Bradman. Amul has poignantly put it like this. It becomes a bit ironic with question mark put after `Dono Bradman’. The tagline `Aus-ome Taste’ suggests `Awesome’ as well as Austrialian origin of Don Bradman.
The advertising field has been greatly indebted to Amul for producing some of the finest advertisements. It has served many purposes and helped the society at large. It has mitigated the boundaries of class, caste and creed. The vision cherished by Vergese Kurien has been realised in the able hands of Amul advertisers.
REFERENCES :
***************************************************
Ramesh B. Patel
I/C Principal,
M.A. Parikh Fine Arts & Arts College, Palanpur
Home | Archive | Advisory Committee | Contact us