Amul's storm in social media on native identity!

Amul caused a storm on Twitter due to his recent advertisement 'Exit the Dragon', through which the company has made a sort of sarcasm on social and political affairs and is currently in the news. Also, the company has pinned the ad to the top of its Twitter account. However, Amul has a long association with controversies and the company continues to be in the limelight due to these. Due to this development, Twitter had to temporarily close the company's account. Although the Amul brand, owned by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Distribution Association (GCMMF), has emerged as the winner in the debate, experts ask if the company did not reach close to a threshold.

Twitter cited technical fault behind Amul's account closure and denied that it was censoring advertisements opposing China. But by the time this came to the fore, Amul's supporters had trended the hashtag BoycatTwitter on his platform. At the same time, Amul noticed that sentiments are also appearing in favor of the company on social media.

It is clear that through this advertisement, Amul had put a finger on the vein of anti-China wave in the country. In the country, local brands are talking about buying indigenous goods, while messages are being forwarded against WhatsApp on WhatsApp. Also, Ladakh resident innovator and educationist Sonam Wangchuk is talking about boycotting China's products through various media platforms. Opposing China is a very attractive topic today. On June 3, Amul released the advertisement in which its popular 'Amul Girl' is fighting a dragon with a placard with 'China' on it and the dragon's background bearing the logo of the Chinese app TicTalk. The tagline of the advertisement reads, 'Amul: Made in India'. The tweet has received over 89,000 likes, retweeted over 44,000 times and received over 4,300 comments.

A lot can be learned from such a move, but is it a wise decision to do so, especially when Amul is an ancient brand with global ambitions. Nationalist sentiments have gained a lot in the last few months, especially since the government has appealed to the people for 'vocal for local'. National brands have presented themselves as 'insider sources' against foreign and Chinese brands and China has increased tensions and skirmishes on the border in times of pandemics and the bad economy as a protest against such a message. Experts say that Amul did not go beyond his role. Independent communications consultant Karthik Srinivasan says that its ads have historically been 'quasi journalistic, queasy opinion' and that the company has been offering such advertisements even at a time when advertisements had little impact on the brand or its products. He says, 'Amul did not take a stern stance like Wangchuk. Its advertisements have been found correct many times, just like it has been found wrong many times. ' However, if this strategy worked for Amul, it does not mean that it would work for the other brands as well. Experts say it is unwise to jump into political matters just to increase their visibility. Brands operate in diverse markets and must treat themselves as global citizens. Ashish Mishra, managing director of Interbrand India, believes that political rhetoric creates many narratives that promote a socio-cultural environment. He says, 'Such political narratives get support from the mainstream media. Even at times, such materials are prepared to create this kind of atmosphere. In such an environment it seems quite tempting for the brand to take a side and it is very difficult for them to stand neutral. Mishra says, "While publishing a single party is a new social currency, which may benefit on a personal level like Wangchuk, but brands are at risk."

Amul has already shown real-life experiences and events very closely in his advertisements, but a businessman associated with the industry says that one should be very careful while raising his voice. In this case, they believe that using the Chinese brand logo is a problem, and doing so will increase the brand's challenges.

Mishra says, 'Amul always tries to be real, due to which he can probably do so. But with Amul, it is only right not to take any form of favor as a brand. For example, recently Google removed an anti-China app from its Play Store, which was the right step to be a global platform. '