You know you grew up in India if this question has lived rent-free in your head: “Melody itni chocolaty kyun hai?” (Why is Melody so chocolaty?).
It wasn’t just a line – it was the mystery of the millennium, a riddle we never wanted solved.
Think back. You’re standing at a railway platform, school bag heavier than your patience, a tinny whistle in the distance. A candy vendor shuffles by, his tray glittering with caramel gold. You reach out, pay a rupee, and there it is – a small, shiny piece of nostalgia: Melody.
You peel it open, pop it in – caramel hugs your tongue first, and then…bam! that unmistakable burst of chocolate. And right at that very moment, the question echoes again – smug, teasing, and timeless.
Launched by Parle in 1983, the Melody campaign did what few ads have ever managed – it turned a tagline into a nationwide guessing game. There was no celebrity, no CGI, no social media. Just a toffee, a question, and a chorus of confused, grinning people asking the same thing in perfect sync.
The magic? It wasn’t about answering the question – it was about making sure you never stopped asking it.
When Candy Got Curious (and Quietly Brilliant)
The early ’80s weren’t exactly a sweet deal for candy brands. Eclairs, Nutties, Poppins – the school canteen looked like a sugar-powered battlefield. Every wrapper screamed louder than the last, each fighting for that sacred Rs 1 coin in your pocket.
Then came Parle, already the parent of legends like Gluco and Kismi, with a new trick up its caramel-coated sleeve – Melody, a toffee so rich it could’ve passed for dessert. Except there was a problem. Chocolate was expensive, imports were rare, and luxury wasn’t exactly a middle-class word.
So, what did Parle do? It went full mystery mode.
No chest-thumping about “premium cocoa.”
No long-winded taste promises.
Just a smirk and one perfectly loaded question:
“Melody itni chocolaty kyun hai?”
That line – penned by Sulekha Bajpai at Everest Advertising – wasn’t a slogan. It was a wink, a whisper, a dare. A candy that refused to explain itself and instead made you earn the answer.
And when you did ask for one, all you got was the most iconic mic drop in advertising history:
“Melody khao, khud jaan jao.”
(Eat it, and find out yourself.)
No exposition. No overthinking. Just curiosity with caramel in the middle and chocolate at its core.
The Catchphrase That Outlived Generations
Some taglines fade with time; this one simply caramelised with age. Since 1983, “Melody itni chocolaty kyun hai?” has been passed down like family gossip – whispered in classrooms, echoed in playgrounds, and even parodied in boardrooms.
It became an inside joke for the entire country.
A coach to a kid? “Itni chocolaty kaise?”
A teacher mid-lecture? “Kya secret hai?”
A burglar in the night? “Melody khao, khud jaan jao.”
Every version had the same mystery – no answers, only appetite. The question wasn’t a hook; it was hypnosis.
2011 – When Ads Went Intergalactic
After a quiet spell, Parle brought in Grey Worldwide to reboot the candy for a meme generation that didn’t even know it was eating nostalgia.
Enter the “Alien” and “Chudail” ads – equal parts absurd and unforgettable.
In one, a scientist interrogates an alien, hoping to decode perfect chocolaty balance. The alien just grins: “Melody khao, khud jaan jao.”
In another, a possessed girl finds her exorcism interrupted by, well, a Melody. Halfway through the horror, she blurts: “Melody itni chocolaty kyun hai?”
Turns out, even ghosts were curious.
2016 – The Thief with Great Taste
Then came Thoughtshop Advertising, who turned temptation into theatre.
A burglar sneaks into a house. He’s got jewels, cash, a clean getaway…but then he spots it – that golden-black wrapper glinting under the night light.
He wakes the homeowner up – not to rob him, but to ask, dead serious:
“Yeh Melody itni chocolaty kyun hai?”
Because some cravings are stronger than crime.
The Curiosity Is Still Alive
Fast forward to 2020 the question remains the same, only the setting and the times have changed.
In 2020, the ad opens with a man calmly sipping chai at a tea stall. Out of nowhere, a woman reporter appears with a mic and asks: “Melody itni chocolaty kyun hai?”
Instant nostalgia unlocked.
That same year, Ahsaas Channa starred in another version of the campaign, keeping the tradition alive with familiar faces joining the ever-growing club of question-askers.
And as always, Melody didn’t offer an answer but it gave you yet another reason to unwrap one, reminding us that times may change, but some questions never do.
The Power of a Question (and a Toffee)
What makes Melody stick in your head isn’t fancy facts or scientific mumbo jumbo, it’s the sneaky little question that won’t quit.
No need for a candy to lecture you about its chocolaty goodness. Melody just asks a simple question and suddenly, you’re hooked. Curiosity bites harder than caramel.
In a candy jungle full of boastful wrappers shouting cocoa this and creamy that, Melody is that cool kid who winks and says, “Figure it out yourself.”
Plus, that question? It’s like a secret password. Whether you’re chilling in Chennai or running errands in Delhi you get it. When someone asks, you stop. You stare. You want in on the mystery.
And that’s why, decades later, when someone asks:
“Melody itni chocolaty kyun hai?”
You still want to know. And you still want to unwrap one.
