New Delhi: Even after four decades, India still doesn’t fully know why Melody is “so chocolaty”. But that has never stopped it from being one of the country’s favourite candies. So, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a packet of Melody to gift to his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni during his trip to Rome, the internet couldn’t keep calm. The sweet gift was a play on “Melodi”, a light-hearted moniker given to the friendly camaraderie between the two leaders.
Sharing the video of PM Modi’s gesture on her social media accounts, Meloni wrote, “Thank you for the gift”.
Very few Indian candies have become larger than the product itself. Melody, created by the Chauhan family of Parle Products, is one of them. The company posted a picture of Meloni and Modi on its Instagram handle, captioning it: “Sweetening relationships since 1983.”
The Melody buzz even hit the stock market. Parle Industries shares rose 5 per cent to Rs 5.25 on Wednesday, though the listed company has no connection with Melody, which is made by privately held Parle Products.
Melody was never just a toffee. It came wrapped in glossy black-and-gold paper, fancy enough for birthday parties but still pocket-friendly.
What made the wrapper memorable was its unusual shape. Unlike most candies that were twisted from both ends, Melody’s wrapper was twisted only on one side, while the other end remained flat and folded. The asymmetrical wrapping almost made it look like a tiny chocolate parcel.
Inside was the soft caramel toffee with hints of chocolate visible at the edges, and also at the centre, which would ooze out.
For an entire generation growing up in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, one question echoed everywhere: “Melody itni chocolaty kyun hai?” The response would be: “Melody khao, khud jaan jao.” It became a national puzzle. This campaign made Melody a hit in the market, and perhaps one of the smartest marketing campaigns India has ever seen.
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How Melody sold mystery
Launched by Parle Products around 1983-84, Melody entered a confectionery market that was already crowded and dominated by Cadbury’s Eclairs. Both products had a similar idea: caramel outside, chocolate inside. But Parle understood one thing: if it couldn’t outspend the competition, it had to outsmart it.
Instead of positioning its candy as a “better chocolate”, Melody chose a completely different route. It refused to explain itself. The brand turned its biggest selling point, the rich chocolate centre, into a mystery.
The iconic line was written by copywriter Sulekha Bajpai while she was at Everest Advertising. Legend has it that the idea struck while she was sitting in Parle’s reception area, still refining the pitch before presenting it to the client. The original line was slightly longer: “Melody ke andar itni chocolate kaise bhari?” But over time, it evolved into the immortal: “Melody itni chocolaty kyun hai?”
The brilliance of the line was not the question itself, but the refusal to answer it.
Instead of telling consumers why Melody tasted better, the ad challenged them to find out themselves. In advertising terms, it was genius. It’s what is known as “weaponised curiosity” in internet language today.
The ads usually featured authority figures, teachers, coaches, and parents completely puzzled by the “Melody mystery”. Then, a child would casually say: “Melody khao, khud jaan jao.”
The sweet spot
Melody was never positioned as a luxury chocolate such as Lindt or Kisses. It was affordable for pocket-money consumers.
And because it sat comfortably at low price points, it travelled everywhere: school canteens, paan shops, kirana stores, bus stands, railway stations, office drawers, and grandparents’ candy jars. It was spotted everywhere and was available for only Rs 2-3.
After a brief advertising break, the brand returned in 2011 with bizarrely entertaining ads made with Grey Worldwide. Aliens and witches were obsessed with Melody’s chocolate mystery too.
Then came the 2016 thief ad, where a burglar breaking into a house gets distracted by Melody and wakes the homeowner just to ask the famous question: “Melody itni chocolaty kyun hai?”
The campaign never abandoned its core identity, but adapted well with time. A reference to it even made its way into the 2019 film Chhichhore, starring Sushant Singh Rajput.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)