It is not easy to become a well-known brand and communicate with customers. Iconic brands are created through careful and consistent marketing efforts, which can take years. A mascot could be beneficial. Here are 12 famous brand mascots and the stories behind them.
1. Parle G – Parle G Girl
We’ve been eating Parle G biscuits for a long time. Not only have we grown up eating these addictive biscuits, but so have our parents! The boy in the photograph, according to Mayank Shah, is just an illustration created by Everest Creative’s artist Maganlal Daiya in the 1960s.
2. Nirma – Nirma Girl
Karsanbhai Patel founded Nirma, whose mascot, the “Nirma Girl,” was actually his daughter Nirupama! Patel adored his daughter and wished for her to achieve fame in India, but she died in an accident. He remained depressed after her death and wanted to immortalize her.
3. Amul – Amul Girl
The mascot’s first public appearance on billboards was conceived by Eustace Fernandes, the art director of DaCunha Communications, in 1966. The public reacted positively to the adorable image of the girl kneeling in prayer with one eye closed and the other on a pack of butter with the words “Give us this day our daily bread with Amul Butter.”
4. Asian Paints – Gattu
Gattu helped Asian Paints, which was established in 1942, establish a strong brand identity. Gattu, a masterwork by the late RK Laxman, struck a chord with the country’s middle-class population and was mainly used in print ads and packaging until the 1970s. It was only in the 1990s TV commercials that became popular.
5. Air India – Maharaja
Since 1946, the Maharaja, the royal mascot of Air India, has served as the royal mascot. It was created by Umesh Rao, a J Walter Thompson Ltd artist and commercial director SK ‘Bobby’ Kooka. In 2015, Air India revamped its venerable ‘Maharajah’ mascot, replacing it with a younger, spiked-haired version.
6. Vodafone – ZooZoo
During the second season of the Indian Premier League in 2009, the adorable white creatures with egg-shaped and ballooned spherical bodies created a huge buzz. The ZooZoos was created by Rajiv Rao, former National Creative Director of Ogilvy & Mather, to promote various Vodafone value-added services.
