Michael Jackson.

Source: amul butter ad on Michael Jackson.

The ad reads black or white, all are fans, followed by Amul butter, you just can’t beat it. Black or white is one of Michael’s songs, which is anti racism. Beat it is another song by him where he sings about overcoming any obstacle that comes in your way. The motive being to always “beat it”. The ad on the Amul billboard is a response to the death of this great legend, but what the ad means is different from what the songs originally were meant to mean. The black and white reference was to show that all races love the butter and the beat it reference was to show that Amul is the best nothing can “beat it”. Yet there is a second meaning, which is that Blacks and whites were all fans of Jackson, but no one can beat or cheat death.
This billboard shows how everything is open to our perception’s interpretation. While I asked my mother her view on the board she said that it was a tribute to him and they used random lyrics to promote the selling of Amul, yet I believe the additional reason was praising Jackson and paying respects to him. Some might even say the you cant beat it was mocking his lyrics because he preached beat it, but he himself couldn’t beat death. The idea behind this board is to entertain the masses and to promote Amul so that more people purchase it. All ads are designed to attract the eye of the observer and tempt him into buying the certain product. Most ads are false. The shampoos that promise no hair fall, and the creams that promise the disappearance of all acne. Ads are all meant to please the eye and gain revenue for the company responsible for the ad.
Companies attempt to hit the emotion of the viewers. They use many techniques by making their ads sentimental and touching, some use celebrities to promote their product, some use comedy, and some use cartoons. The motive is to win emotion in such a manner that logic and reason play a backseat in the choosing of what products to buy. People spend thousands of rupees on belts that promise to build abs, but none of that ever truly happens. It is just the way to sell a product.
The language used in the ads is very important. They must be to the point. The body language, the acting, the punch line all must be designed to captivate the audience. It shouldn’t be too long, yet never too short. The Amul ad hits the emotions of all his fans, and manages to make them smile and miss him, yet reminding them that maul is entertaining and probably a good butter. Amul ads have always been funny and they actually have managed to make me enjoy reading them and eating the butter that cant be “beat”.