Sylvester daCunha, the man behind the cheeky and fearless Amul girl, no more
Sylvester daCunha, who conceived the “Utterly Butterly” Amul girl in the 1960s, passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday (June 21). He is survived by his wife Nisha daCunha and son Rahul daCunha.
DaCunha ideated the Amul campaign in 1966, reportedly along with art director Eustace Fernandes and Usha Katrak, among others, when the Father of the White Revolution, Verghese Kurien, came looking to build an ad campaign for the brand he had started a decade ago.
Over the decades, the cheeky Amul girl became an icon the brand used to make political statements and social commentary — all with a dollop of humour. From the Emergency to the surgical strikes, the Amul girl never shied away from expressing her opinion, often with her tongue firmly in cheek.
Rahul daCunha is now the creative director of daCunha Communications and responsible for driving the Amul campaign.
Pavan Singh, General Manager (Marketing) at Amul India, paid tribute to daCunha in a LinkedIn post.
“…Along with the legendary Dr Verghese Kurien, it was Mr Sylvester DaCunha who had initiated our immortal, iconic topical campaign in 1966, which is one of longest continuously running advertising campaigns in the world. This campaign scaled new heights, moved seamlessly from OOH to print, TV & then digital & social media, enhancing its reach & popularity across multiple generations!” he wrote.
Very sorry to inform about the sad demise of Shri Sylvester daCunha, Chairman of daCunha Communications last night at Mumbai
A doyen of Indian advertising industry who was associated with Amul since 1960s. The Amul family joins in mourning this sad loss @RahuldaCunhaॐ Shanti 🙏 pic.twitter.com/cuac1K6FSo
— Jayen Mehta (@Jayen_Mehta) June 21, 2023
Jayen Mehta, the managing director at Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF / Amul), tweeted: “Very sorry to inform about the sad demise of Shri Sylvester daCunha, Chairman of daCunha Communications last night at Mumbai. A doyen of Indian advertising industry who was associated with Amul since 1960s. The Amul family joins in mourning this sad loss @RahuldaCunha.”
(With agency inputs)
