By Malay Desai
By: daCunha Communications
The second film of milk co-operative Amul’s ‘mooch’ campaign of July begins with a man entering a men’s saloon with his daughter in uniform. Using the Wild Western style of drama as well as music, the film shows the man having his moustache trimmed as per the ‘avval number mooch’ on the list, as other men look intimidatingly. When he’s done, the girl fishes out a bottle of Amul’s lassi and bears a moustache from drinking it, then proceeds to picking up the helmet and walking out as all the men, including her father, look on astoundingly. After the list’s item is changed to ‘Amul Mooch,’ the tagline reads ‘Amul mooch nahin toh kuch nahin.’
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The ad critic in me is currently in a state of severe withdrawal, as another desi commercial in a row has warranted a glowing column thanks to its inimitable style and entertaining execution. After Freecharge’s hilarious ‘Bambani’ debut, this time it’s the grand old man of Indian advertising, Amul. Having only recently watched director Rahul daCunha’s iconic play, Class of ’84, there is chance of more bias, but here goes:
In February this year, the national marketing arm for the dairy industry of America wound up its 20-year campaign ‘Got Milk?’ which featured the biggest stars with milky moustaches. In June, Amul unveiled its new campaign also on the same concept, only with a young girl in a uniform wearing the milky mooch. The ‘inspiration’ was striking but many argued it was good adaptation. This sequel, having lesser characters than the original but the same western style, makes the idea our own.
The ‘wild west’ style of intimidating characters and loud orchestra isn’t commonplace here, but our dramaloving people wouldn’t mind it one bit, without getting any references. I like it too, the scorn-filled faces of men in a dimly lit saloon in no way give away what’s to follow. The father is an underdog here, and the daughter, same girl from the first edition, turns out to be the hero again.
I’d have liked to see the shave and moustache-trimming happening, as it would’ve simplified the narrative, before the other men are relieved that this guy has retained his mooch. The killer however arrives when the girl fishes out Amul lassi (sleek pack for the outdoors on display) and bears the ‘best’ moustache of them all, leaving the men, including her father shocked. Her slow-mo walk out is when most of us would be laughing or clapping – this is an ad you’d love to watch with friends in a theatre.
‘Mooch nahin toh kuch nahin’ isn’t original, but Amul is trying to make the line its own. The last great work on moustaches, O&M’s stellar film on Fevicol’s 50th anniversary, bagged a few awards and we won’t be surprised if this one does too. Thanks very mooch, Rahul.
(To watch this film and another recent launch, ‘Dosti butter’ from Amul, visit ‘YouTube.com/AmulTV’)
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