Amul, the popular dairy brand, frequently releases topicals that comment on news of public interest. One of its latest illustrations features U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire businessman Elon Musk. Wondering why? Trump recently announced that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy (the former Republican presidential candidate), will lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. The news has made headlines around the world, sparking heated debates and discussions for several reasons. Amul did not take a stance on the topic. Rather, it employed wordplay to simply make a witty reference to the news that is taking social media by storm.
In its topical, we see Trump leaning against a desk behind which Elon Musk is sitting. Trump holds up a single finger partly covered in butter. Musk holds up a buttered slice of bread. There’s a slab of butter and a stack of bread slices kept on the desk (these are common items in many Amul topicals). The text on top of the illustration reads, “Mujhe Muska Do Ge?” There are at least two instances of wordplay here. Firstly, “Muska” is a play on the Hindi word “maska” meaning butter. Secondly, “Do Ge” represents the initials of the Department of Government Efficiency. In Hindi, “doge” also translates to “will you give.” With these possible hints in mind, the question (“Mujhe Muska Do Ge?”) could also be a reference to the Hindi idiom “maska maarna,” which means the same as the English phrase, “to butter someone up”. This is open to interpretation.
The text at the bottom of the topical reads, “Amul Unpresidented taste!” The changed spelling of “unprecedented” is, of course, a reference to Trump’s election as the US President. Take a look below:
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Before this, in 2023, Amul had shared a topical featuring Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. It was released after there was widespread speculation about an online feud between the two, following the launch of ‘Threads’ as a platform to rival Twitter. Click here to read the full article.