Dangerously Cute: Using Brand Mascots as Political Propaganda

When the Amul Girl mascot was created in 1966 to represent an Indian brand of butter, she  was immediately a hit with households across India. The branding was created to help the Indian company compete with Polson's, a company who had a monopoly on the market until the 1960s. The light skinned, slightly chubby, adorable girl with the blue-haired bowl cut immediately won hearts, and brand loyalty. She quickly became a pop culture icon and came to represent the upper class and liberal politics in India. The messaging on the ads has evolved through the years and over the last six years, the messaging has shifted to pro-state propaganda and Hindu nationalism. Amul is now being used to normalize harsh government laws and pro-surveillance laws.Learn more and see examples here in this video created by artist and designer Kruttika Susarla: https://youtu.be/znMcCUH8aq8Sources:https://designincubation.com/publications/abstracts/utterly-butterly-propaganda-an-analysis-of-illustration-as-a-tool-of-persuasion-in-amul-ads/