uicide isn�t especially funny. But Mother Dairy icecreams and its ad agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, obviously believe that the Urdu rendition of the word, especially when broken up into two parts, is. They are urging youngsters to commit themselves to �khud khushi,� or self gratification, by consuming gallons of icecream at home or outside, during the day or even in the wee hours of the morning.

The new campaign for Chillz, a new sub-brand of Mother Dairy introduced last year, broke at the onset of summer 2004. Straddling print, outdoor and movie theatres, it is built around the theme, "Chalo Khud Khushi Karen" (the Urdu word Khudkhushi means suicide). "Last year we focused on building the personality of Chillz as a young and hip brand (unlike Mother Dairy which is considered fuddy duddy). This year our agenda is to strengthen the connect with the youth," says Anand Narsimha, executive vice-president, north, Saatchi & Saatchi. He says while the other dairy items and icecreams in the Mother Dairy portfolio are in-home products consumed by families, Chillz is an impulse purchase range of bars and cones targeted at the college-going youth. So the advertising for the two had to be radically different. ... more