The Great Gambler in the course of Mad Ad Men

Arun Nanda is a fairly common Punjabi name, but the prefix Diwan made him an outlier in letter and spirit. As I saw his passe body bidding adieu to his perennial soul in an act of  ultimate surrender, I could not help but reflect on the fizz and pizzazz of an advertising doyen called Diwan Arun Nanda. 

I have never worked with Arun, but I have had the pleasure of interacting with him quite regularly at the AAAI Executive Committee meetings and quite closely when he was the President and I was the Treasurer,  on myriad business issues and challenges besetting the ad world. I had strayed into the ad world from my previous avatars as a finance and tax consultant and at multinational pharm companies, courtesy the endless chase by my colleagues and friends, Lalit Bhai and Ambi Parameswaran from Boots Pharmaceuticals topped by the grand finale reach-out by the late Anil Kapoor from the same Boots stable, who never carried any appellation in his name while being some generations removed from the erstwhile diwan of the then Kapurthala state. Whether by serendipity or by design, I had been involved with AAAI quite deeply soon after I entered the industry in 1990, when I had just about breached 30, through my near 3 decades tenure at the FCB Ulka Group.

I quite distinctly remember Arun’s suave bearings when I first met him at the apex industry body meeting, standing out amongst other giants of the ad world, with his attire and comportment. Dressed in a striped dark grey suit and light cream shirt with French cuffs and stand-out cuff links and tie, he was elegance personified. More than the way he carried himself, what has stayed with me is his deep knowledge of our industry and measured responses to the heated debates around the table. He was laconic unlike the other guffawing contemporaries around the table, but quite incisive and effective in driving home his point and helping in arriving at some consensus. During his term as the President, he would reach out to me quite often and discuss in detail not just money and tax matters, collections, delinquent clients and client disputes and recoveries, but other subjects like partnerships with media bodies, readership, viewership,  etc. Here was a man who was quite clearly respecting the voice of the other in a junior like me and taking on board his views. Now, that was the hallmark of a true leader, a true listener.  Every conversation with him, albeit not innumerable, was a learning opportunity for me  and a revelation of his personality, professionalism and power. Before I had joined the then Ulka, I had done some competition analysis to help me decide. Rediffusion was one of the home-grown marquee brands standing out in a crowd of multinationals like HTA, Lintas, GKE, etc. It is then I learnt of Arun’s penchant  for horses and racing as well. Though I don’t know exactly how many races his horses have won, he was a regular at racing events, which  piqued in me a passing interest in racing and betting, bets that I never won. Arun lived life king size much before Wills made it its calling card! I have always believed that any person who has other interests and passions will make a mark in his profession. And Arun did it and  how!

An alumni of the famed IIMA first batch pass out in 1966 ( a few years senior to my own boss, Anil Kapoor ) and becoming a management trainee at Hindustan Lever, Arun soon set out on his own and founded Rediffusion with Ajit Balakrishnan and Mohammad Khan ( who later parted ) in 1973. A trail blazer of a pioneer, Rediffusion had soon morphed into a redoubtable powerhouse with high-recall advertising communications for brands like Jenson & Nicholson, Eveready, Airtel, Tata Sky and so many others, mentioning all of which may take reams of space. A man known for his high-end connections with the who-is-who of the political world and the corporate world, he formed enduring and relationships with his clients  which reflected in Rediffusion’s success spree. Rediffusion was a breeding ground for many advertising entrepreneurs of those days, MBAs and leaders, many of whom I know and continue to be in touch to this day. Partnerships with international giants like Dentsu and Young & Rubicom were icing on the cake and if I daresay, more for the benefit of the multinationals than Rediffusion. Arun was the cohesive force stitching together passion, people and products to make for enduring brand messaging. Rediffusion was also a pioneer of sort in the dot.com space, having set up rediffusion.com with the push of the knowledgeable Ajit and which soon got listed in NYC. Rediffusion was ahead of its time in more ways than one. It was tragic then that with all the prescience and power of Arun, Rediffusion soon lost its way and was upended in a way, with none of its global partnerships enduring and soon becoming a revolving door of CEOs. Unfortunately, serious health issues in the last decade of his life gradually left Arun effete in contrast to his earlier go-getting energies.  Fortunately, Rediffusion continues to be extant, Arun having given its reins to one of its erstwhile leaders, in the last phase of his life. It will be a befitting honour to Arun if Rediffusion regains its splendorous colours of yore, which I am hopeful it will.

We all have our personal ‘what if’ thoughts coming back to us repeatedly. One such was the discussion we often had at  FCB Ulka about a potential tie-up with Rediffusion, given the leadership of two strong personalities in Arun and Anil, but it was not to be for various real reasons,  without getting into any speculations. The second was in receiving an overture to join Rediffusion in one of my conversations with Arun and I not pursuing it. A FCB Ulka Rediffusion combo would have been a mother of all mergers indeed with the most sought-after leadership teams of those days in the two companies forging a united path like none before. 

You will be missed, Arun. You have now attained a merger like none before. Stay royal, stay regal. 

Nagesh Alai is the Former Group Chairman of FCB Ulka Group