An Ode to The Pug and The Zoozoo

Vodafone (sorry, sorry, it’s Vi, don’t kill me) is in a truly sad state. They’re lagging behind Jio and Airtel, in almost every significant metric. And yet, despite what Airtel loyalists might tell you, it is a fact that they’re the best at creating mascots.

There was the pug, back when Vodafone was called Hutch and your writer was still being scolded because he refused to drink a full glass of milk (I was a very nasty kid). The pug did everything - from travelling interstate to being a general ball of wholesomeness on the Marine Drive boardwalk. The ads were so beautifully made that many Indians, who weren’t exactly dog enthusiasts, started calling all pugs ‘Hutch wala kutta’ (That Hutch Dog). And this lovely hutch wala kutta definitely was a big contributor in getting Hutch 22% market share of the GSM market in India (remember the days when we also had CDMA networks?)

Then, in 2006, Hutch was forced to show their pockets, and when those were found emptier than Zimbabwe’s treasury or Andrew Tate’s conscience - they had to sell. And obviously, international giant Vodafone was happy to come in. I mean, if I sold you 22% of a growing market’s network share for 10 cents on the dollar (and you had the money to buy it), would you not??

Vodafone knew that the dog was working, and yet they decided to do away with it. Because *insert I am your captain now meme*, they were the captains now. And they wanted to make sure people knew that there was a new captain in town.?

And after spending almost 3 years trying and testing different strategies, they knew what was going to get them success - small white blobs doing stuff.

Also called the Zoozoos - one of the biggest campaigns of 21st century India.?

They launched in the 2009 IPL - the time they knew every Tom, Dick and Harry would be hooked to their TVs. It was a simple idea - white humanoid characters living life. You can call it India’s first anthology miniseries, and you wouldn’t be exaggerating. The zoozoos did normal human stuff like talking to their girlfriends, playing cricket and getting stuck at a bus stop as it rained cats and dogs (or the zoozoo versions of the same). And since it was what it was, it was more than easy for Vodafone to plug in their services in smart, creative ways.?

You know your mascot is a hit when at busy traffic signals, there are kids selling you knockoff plushies of them. And when, in a market dominated by multiple local network providers, CDMA and one giant called Bharti Airtel, you still manage to obtain over 30% market share. And still stay profitable.

Obviously, they stopped the zoozoo campaign, a lot of things (Jio) happened and today, Vodafone is smaller than ever before. But Hutch/Vodafone were never the main characters of this story, were they?

The main characters were always the pug and the zoozoos. In other words, mascots that mattered.

What is a mascot??

Oxford defines it as,

“a person or thing that is supposed to bring good luck, especially one linked to a particular organization or event.”

Well, Oxford, one thing that you forgot to say about mascots is that they need to mean something.

We at Savage & Palmer often get asked, does a mascot mean anything in 2022?

Well, yes. If it does its actual job - which is to make a brand relatable.

Why is the Duolingo Owl so popular? Why are there so many memes about it? Simple - it is known to be equivalent to an actual teacher - someone who congratulates you when you do well, but also goes ballistic when you don’t put in the required amount of effort. The Amul girl? Signifies your daughter. Or sister. If she was in an iconic moment and loved Amul products.

A mascot’s main job, no matter what Oxford says, is to bring a brand as close to being an actual individual as possible. Brands are often looked at as giant monsters, entities that would do anything for profits. And they are, no lying. But with a mascot, they can show who they want to talk to. Who they want to talk about.?

The pug talked to you from a dog’s perspective - which is important to anyone who likes, or has seen, a dog. Usually, these people are also the ones who use networks. This little target group called every person ever.?

We already talked about how the zoozoos worked.

So yes - the next time you ask yourself whether your brand needs a mascot, ask yourself this instead - do I want to talk to my audience? Do I need a brand voice that needs to be relatable, conversible and quite frankly, lovable??

Once again, Hooshang will take less of your time and entertain you just as much. Until next time, when we talk about something we’ll only find out then, antio! (Greek this week)

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