Advertising veteran Sylvester daCunha, who designed the iconic 1966 Amul Girl ‘utterly butterly’ campaign, died in Mumbai on Tuesday night. “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,” Amul managing director Jayen Mehta took to Twitter to share the news.
Amul’s general marketing manager Pavan Singh expressed grief over LinkedIn. Calling Sylvester the “legend of Indian Advertising world”, Singh said he was very sad to learn Sylvester’s demise. He also said that it was an honour to have learnt from him over nearly three decades.
He added, “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!”
Further speaking about Sylvester, Singh said, “His advertising acumen, his gentle, fatherly nature, his amazing wit & sense of humour are etched in my memory. I am sure, he will live on forever, in the minds & hearts of Advertising & marketing professionals in India.”
Sylvester, brother of late advertising expert Gerson daCunha, was in his 80s and is survived by his wife Nisha and son Rahul daCunha. Working with Amul since 1960s, Sylvester has been an integral part of Amul’s advertising division. He is also known to have pioneered the concept of advertising being done based on contemporary events.
According to the book, Amul’s INDIA 3.0, daCunha wanted to create a mascot who could position itself among mothers and children. It was then decided that a child would be the face of the brand. Sylvester daCunha explained his visualisation to Eustace Fernandes, who brought the Amul Girl to life. The catchphrase “utterly butterly delicious” of the ad campaign was coined by Sylvester’s wife, Nisha da Cunha. The mascot first debuted on a few lamp-post boards in Mumbai with the line, “Give us this day our daily bread: with Amul butter”.
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