Obituary: Diwan Arun Nanda, the last of India's advertising greats

Remembering Diwan Arun Nanda - Rediffusion founder, ad legend, and pioneer of India's creative and political advertising legacy

Diwan Arun Nanda (DAN), founder and former chairman of Rediffusion passed away over the weekend. He was the last of India’s advertising greats, and part of a generation admired and respected by clients for their strategic sharpness and creative savvy. 

The first gold-medallist of the very first batch of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad (1966), and the first ever management trainee hired by Hindustan Lever, Nanda was credited with the creation of Rin’s “lightning” mnemonic as its brand manager. In 1973, Nanda set up Rediffusion which went on to become India’s hottest creative agency over the next two decades — taking home creative awards by the truckful. 

The man launched Lakme, created The Garden Vareli Woman, coined The Zing Thing for Gold Spot, made “Red & White peene walon ki baat hi kuchh aur hai” famous, gave Eveready the “Give Me Red” war cry, appropriated “Whenever you see colour, think of us” for Jenson & Nicholson paints. Arun Nanda challenged the big multinational agencies of the 1970s and 80s by launching India’s very own red-hot creative boutique, Rediffusion, making it the most admired ad agency of that era. 

Nanda had stature and an outreach few have ever had in Indian advertising. He was on Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s hot dial, and ministers Arun Nehru and Arun Singh (both former Rediff clients) were his best buddies. He was Ratan Tata’s closest friend, like family to Amitabh Bachchan, and raced horses together with Vijay Mallya. HCL, the information technology giant, was birthed on his dining table by Shiv Nadar. Deepak Khaitan would send his private plane always to fetch the Diwan to Kolkata… and yes, one of India’s most famous heroines was his first girlfriend! Nanda lived life king-size, for sure. And enjoyed it too. 

I first met Diwan Saheb in 1994. I then spent eight years working for him at Rediffusion, and he was soon more than a boss to me. He became my friend, my guide, my mentor, my critic and my hero. With his demise, I have lost a father figure. 

What was so special about Arun Nanda? When he first started Rediffusion, he put up a plaque at the agency. It said: “We will create advertising that becomes famous, part of the language and the culture of the people changing forever how they look at a brand.” And that is exactly what he delivered. The Maruti “wings” logo that you see on every car was designed by him in 1982. He got Kapil Dev to say, “Palmolive da jawaab nahin” in his own inimitable way. He was the force behind the AR Rahman Airtel commercial whose tune is the most downloaded piece of music in human history. And it was he who told the world that Tata Sky “laga dala to life jhingalala”! 

But Arun Nanda would be best remembered as the pioneer of political advertising in India. He ran Rajiv Gandhi’s 1984 Congress campaign from the front. He went on to become one of the closest confidants of the new Prime Minister. What most folks don’t, however, know is that it was Nanda who identified a young Prannoy Roy, then a junior professor at Delhi School of Economics, and got him started as a psephologist. Nanda was a man way ahead of his times. 

In 2008, Nanda got into a head-on fight with WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell. Sorrell tried to forcibly buy out Rediffusion. When Nanda refused, Sorrell took away Colgate, Citibank, Ford and Airtel to WPP. But Nanda did not blink. He eventually, in fact, bought out the WPP stake in Rediffusion in 2018. 

In 2021, he called me home one day. He had been very, very sick. He said he was unable to run Rediffusion any longer because of his deteriorating health. There were many prospective buyers for Rediffusion, but Nanda told me: “Sandeep, you understand the Rediffusion DNA better than anyone else; you have worked with me. I would like you to run Rediffusion again.” I had hung up my boots by then. I could, however, not say no to DAN. I came back to Rediffusion, but insisted that he remain chairman. I finally took over the mantle after Rediffusion’s landmark 50th year celebration.

 

Will miss you, sir. Now and always.

 

Diwan Arun Nanda, RIP.

 

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The author is chairman of Rediffusion