From the famous blue-haired Amul girl to Air India’s Maharaja to Vodafone’s Zoo Zoo, India has witnessed various famous mascots.
Becoming a big business or a brand and connecting with the audience is not a simple task. In this digital age where every other brand is spread across different platforms, one needs to stand out to get noticed among the pool of various brands. Constant efforts and marketing are required and sometimes it takes years to get a huge following. There are several brands who have famous mascots. But, what are mascots?
Let us explain it to you.
What is a Brand Mascot?
A mascot is a lucky person, animal, object or a creation that brings good luck. In business, it is considered as the face or a character that defines your brand. The aim of the mascot is to talk to the consumers and audience on the company’s behalf. Famous mascots like Amul girl, Asian Paints Gattu etc have been endearing to brands for several years and have become the face of the brand. Over the years they have a strong recall and connect with the audiences and have brought in some amazing marketing campaigns. There are various mascots that are no longer used by the brands but they were very famous among the masses.
10 famous Brand Mascots of India
- Amul Girl, Amul
- Parle-G Girl, Parle G
- Nirma Girl, Nirma
- Zoo Zoo, Vodafone
- Murphy Baby, Murphy Radio
- Gattu, Asian Paints
- Devil, Onida
- Boomer Man, Boomer
- Dadaji, MDH Masale
- Maharaj, Air India
Here comes our collection of 10 famous mascots which have nothing but one thing in common: they brought ridiculously huge fame to the brands they were a part of.
1. Amul Girl, Amul
Amul girl was born in 1966 and gained a massive response from the audience when she was introduced on a huge outdoor banner. The Amul girl comments on everything. Whether it be social life, politics, or sports, she has a say on everything that’s happening in the nation or across the globe. There are instances when she has landed on controversies but her advertisements are widely appreciated. From kids to their grannies, everyone recognizes the Amul Girl.
2. Parle-G Girl, Parle G
We have been eating Parle G since forever. It’s not just us, but even our parents and their parents too have been eating these addictive biskoots. While other companies were selling a bit more expensive cookies and biscuits, Parle G still remained the common man’s biscuit. India has seen a lot of changes over time but Parle G’s taste is still the same. Parle G girl is the face of these biscuits. She has evolved over these years but still holds immense popularity.
Read more on Is Parle G the Emotion of India?
3. Nirma Girl, Nirma
Nirma! Washing Powder Nirma! Doodh si safedi Nirma se aayi….. Nirma is one of the oldest detergent brands in India. This jingle along with Nirma girl is very famous in the country. Nirma was founded by Karsanbhai Patel and the brand mascot is none other than his daughter, Nirupama! His daughter died in an accident so he decided that he would immortalize her.
4. Zoo Zoo, Vodafone
Zoo Zoo came into the market much before Vodafone and Idea’s merger. It was created by Rajiv Rao and his idea was to create animated human-like figures that are cute and lovable. Zoo Zoos got immense popularity and were used in the advertisements of Vodafone’s services. They made a comeback again in 2015, wherein the company used them to promote their ‘My Vodafone App’.
5. Murphy girl of Murphy Radio
If you have watched the Ranbir Kapoor-Priyanka Chopra starrer hindi movie ‘Barfi’, you might recognise the face. For those who don’t, she was the iconic Murphy girl of Murphy Radio. Murphy Radio was founded by Frank Murphy and EJ Power. And as the face of these radio sets they had this chubby cute girl who was introduced in the 1960s. The ‘ghar-ghar ki ronak’ was later replaced by a boy. Although the mascots don’t exist anymore, the brand’s official site states that it is now owned by the Shirodkar Group of Companies.
6. Gattu, Asian Paints
With his hair covering his eyes permanently, Gattu became the strong identity of Asian Paints, which was founded in 1942. A master recreation by the Late RK Laxman, the mascot was able to strike right chords with the middle class population of India. Launched in the 80s with the tagline Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai, Asian Paints advertisements created a strong bond with its consumers through Gattu as their star mascot. When the company revamped their identity again in 2006, sadly they axed Gattu and it stopped existing as their brand mascot.
7. Devil, Onida
Do you remember the long-nailed devil from Onida? He had pointed ears and a devilish smile on his face. The tagline ‘Neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride’ resonated very well with the mascot. Dominating the industry in the 1980s, the devil was played by a model coordinator called David Whitbread and was shot by Gopi Kukde of Advertising Avenues. He was later replaced by different models. Onida decided to not use the 2 decade old devil and keep ‘owners pride’ as their tagline to let off the negative image of the devil in the ad. Although it doesn’t exist now, it still generates the brand recall whenever someone sees it or mentions it.
8. Boomer Man, Boomer
Boomer was brought to India in 1995 by a major confectionery in Spain. Since its arrival in the Indian markets, it resonated well with the Indian audience. With its famous line Boom Boom Boomer, the advertisement shows that Boomer man is the saviour of people. In 2005, the Spanish company Joyca was bought by Wrigley’s. Boomer still utilizes Boomer Man and to drive a brand recall, they even started a bubble gum blowing championship. Say, Boom Boom Boomer!
9. Dadaji, MDH Masale
If you have seen the earlier advertisements of MDH masale, one cannot overlook the Late Dharampal Gulati in the MDH (Mahashian Di Hatti) advertisements. Better known as the King of Spices and the face of MDH spices, he has faced many struggles and difficulties but still made MDH a big name in the country.
10. Maharaj, Air India
Air India’s Maharaj has been their mascot since 1946! It was in 2015 when they replaced their royal old maharaja with a young spiky character. PM Modi instructed the airlines that instead of Maharaja, an aam aadmi should be the mascot of Indian Aviation.
Which other Indian mascot would you like to add to the list?
