Maharaja: Air India’s Mascot
The iconic mascot of Maharaja was conceptualized by Bobby Kooka, Commercial Director of Air India along with Umesh Rao, an artist with J. Walter Thompson Ltd., in the year 1946.
When Maharaja came into picture then Air India was the only international flight, carrying passengers to destinations like Cairo, Prague, Damascus, Zurich, and Istanbul. India was then known as the land of Maharajas, hence Kooka wanted to present Air Back as a symbol of elegance and graciousness.
In an interview, Kooka quoted that Maharaja has been named so for want of a better description but he has never been of noble lineage. On this idea, the creators gave Maharaja a distinctive look, with a heavy coal-black mustache, Indian turban, and aquiline nose. Although he looks like royalty, he takes different avatars: sumo wrestler, a vendor of naughty postcards, Arab merchant, lover boy, a red Indian, pavement artist, capuchin monk.
Thus, the iconic figure of Maharaja became Air-India’s mascot for its advertising and sales promotion activities. Air India used different avatars of Maharaja in its print ads to introduce new flight routes, for a flight to Paris, he would be shown as a lover boy, for a flight to Tokyo, he was shown as a sumo wrestler.
In fact, in the year 1989, Air India discontinued Maharaja because it’s regal connotations gave rise to several controversies as politicians expressed their concern about using such a symbol to represent India which is a nation with socialist aspirations. But it faced criticism from various quarters as a result of which the mascot has to be brought into the picture again.
In the year 2015, the iconic figure saw another revolutionary change when Air India received a recommendation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replace maharaja with a aam aadmi figurine to emphasize on the fact that flying can be afforded by even a common man and is not limited to reach of the riches. So in the year 2017, Maharaja lost a bit of his flab and substituted his traditional attire with spiky hair, blue jeans, t-shirt, trainers, a satchel and a mobile phone to gel better with the modern times.
The iconic figure of Maharaja became one of the most distinctive mascots the world over. It has even won numerous national and international awards for originality in advertising and publicity. His expressions, his puns, and the sense of humor helped Air India promote its services.
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About the Author:
Aditi Garg is an MBA student, filled with curiosity to learn and explore more of the Digital Marketing World. As a Digital Marketing Executive at Social Buzz, Aditi takes an active part in curating content, and strategizing marketing campaigns to execute them with perfection!
That’s an interesting read! What a great article about the transformation of the mascot!
Indeed! The transformation of Maharaja teaches us to adapt ourselves to the changing trends.
-Aditi
A really well scripted history of the ‘Maharaja’ ! A delightful read! 👍👍
Glad that you liked it! Stay tuned to read the whole series of Mascot.
-Aditi
Oh wow this history sounds quite interesting and amazing..glad you shared this information with us..great work though…
Indeed the history of Maharaja is interesting and worth noting! Glad that you liked it.
-Aditi
It’s very informative for people who didn’t know about the story of the mascot! Well done!
Glad to know that this piece proved to be informative to you!
-Aditi
Thanks for sharing Maharaja’s history with us! I didn’t know about this before and this was an interesting read!
Pleased to know that you liked this blog! Thank you for your generous words.
-Aditi
I flew with Air India in 2017 to Kerala and I remember loving the little mascot! It’s interesting to see the varying versions of him over time, too.
Even I have fond memories of Maharaja when I would travel by Air India. Glad to know that we share same feelings!
-Aditi
I didn’t know about some of the details mentioned here and I’ve read about the Maharaja. Thank you!
Yes, we did a lot of research to put this blog together. Pleased to know that you found it informative!
-Aditi
I’m not familiar with this airline but that’s an interesting history!
Air India is an Indian Airline that started its operations in the 1930s. Glad that you found it interesting!
-Aditi
This was so interesting for me to read! Thank you for this with us!
Kileen
cute & little
Thank you for your kind words! Stay tuned with us for more such stories behind different mascots.
-Aditi
Wow, he has made quite the transformation over the years! This was very interesting.
Indeed, he kept up his game to stay trendy and relevant, which is also an important life lesson for all of us.
-Aditi
I do fly with Air India but I didn’t know the detail about it. It was a great read about ‘Maharaja’.
We hope that the next time if you fly with them, you will remember this story.
-Aditi
I have never flown with them and didn’t know anything about this Mascotte – it is good that they updated it 🙂
We are glad that you found this blog useful. Maharaja is a very well known mascot, all those who have ever flown with Air India know him and have shared some memories with him.
-Aditi
This was very interesting. Thanks for sharing Maharaja’s history with us!
Maharaja and his story are indeed very interesting. Glad that you liked it!
-Aditi