Sylvester daCunha conceived the Amul ‘Utterly Butterly’ Girl along with his art director Eustace Fernandes with inputs from Dr Verghese Kurien, the Milkman of India, which won the hearts of millions.
Dr Kurien, the then chairman of Amul, suggested a mischievous little girl as a mascot of the product and daCunha and Fernandes created history. The idea was to have a girl who would “walk her way in the Indian kitchen and the housewife’s heart”, daCunha has been quoted as saying.
Jayen Mehta, GCMMF Chairman, announced the death of da Cunha on Twitter. “Sorry to hear about the passing on of Sylvester daCunha, Advertising legend & founder of da Cunha Associates. He was the man behind the AMUL girl in 1967 & brother of the late Gerson DaCunha. Deepest condolences to Mrs. Nisha da Cunha & son Rahul. May he rest in eternal peace.”
Amul India GM Marketing, Pavan Singh, expressed grief at Sylvester’s passing.
“Very sad to learn that Sylvester daCunha, the legend of the Indian Advertising world, is no longer amongst us. It was an honour to have learnt the art of Brand communication and advertising, from him over nearly 3 decades,” Singh on his Linkedin page.
Singh recalled how, along with the legendary Dr. Verghese Kurien, it was Sylvester daCunha who had initiated Amul’s “immortal, iconic topical campaign in 1966, which is one of the longest continuously running advertising campaigns in the world”.