What Makes Iconic, Iconic

For any brand, one of the biggest endeavours is to create something that resonates with people. The message or the work should be able to attract attention, retain it, and make consumers the brand ambassadors in turn by talking about it or sharing it or referencing it but most importantly, the work should be able to withstand the test of time.

More often than not, there is the tendency to ask creative leaders ‘What is the new thing your brand has done?’ or ‘We are seeing the same thing for ages, isn’t it time to change?’. In a cutthroat world, this obsession to find ‘something new’ or ‘something fresh’ forgets one of the age-old needs of long-lasting brands, which is creative assets that can live and breathe a life of their own.

Globally, just like Nike has its swoosh or McDonald’s has Ronald, India too has had the Amul Girl or the Maharajah that have confidently represented their brands for decades. What is it that makes them relevant irrespective of the generation, the changes in the media landscape and competition coming even from the likes of artificial intelligence?

If we take the Amul Girl as a case in point, the first thing that stands out is the simplicity and the ability to stay ‘present’. Whether it is the way she is or the comments that accompany her in the different ad platforms giving a take on a current scenario, she can make people of all ages smile. Amul did not change her or her brand of commenting at any point in the search for something different. On the contrary, the brand took a chance and backed their Amul Girl all the way. 

This was perhaps also Amul’s way of doing things. As can be seen in its taglines, ‘Amul, the Taste of India’ or ‘Utterly Butterly Delicious’. Why fix something, when it aint broken? 

It is also true though that whether it is Amul Girl or Onida’s Devil, these mascots could connect with real human emotions. They could find their place in pop culture, so much so that they broke into conversations that may have absolutely nothing to do with the brand itself. These brand assets live their own life and it is not shackled. ‘Utterly, butterly…’, for example, need not be there every time Amul Girl is sharing her viewpoint. The brand guide is not a rigid rule book, which when not followed will challenge its very existence.

Icons are not just great ideas but also a brand’s vindication that their presence will attract consumers’ long-term loyalty. It will create a sense of co-ownership that needs the brand to let go of some control. Doing something new every time is not necessarily a sign of genius but continuing a good idea that worked, is.