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Diwan Arun Nanda (left) with cricketer Ravi Shastri
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The advertising world lost one of its most charismatic and influential figures on Saturday with the passing of Diwan Arun Nanda, the co-founder of Rediffusion. He was 82.
Think of some of the most memorable lines in Indian advertising – be it ‘The Zing Thing’ for Gold Spot, ‘Give Me Red’ for Eveready or ‘Whenever you see colour, think of us’ for Jenson & Nicholson, and it came out of the agency that Nanda built with Ajit Balakrishnan and Mohammed Khan in 1973. Rediffusion disrupted Indian advertising which till then was dominated by the likes of JWT and Lintas, with a distinct identity, ethos and stamp.
Nanda was of the stuff that advertising folklore is made of. As ad man Sandeep Goyal who worked closely with him during his stint as President of Rediffusion DY&R between 1997 and 2001 and later bought out the agency in 2021, says, “Diwan Nanda was the classiest and most dapper professional in Indian advertising – famous for his designer suits and derby winning horses. He had charisma and charm.”
Goyal describes Nanda as a man of big ideas who created India’s biggest brands and most famous campaigns. Indeed, Rediffusion had a huge role to play in building up brands like Airtel and Maruti (the famous wing logo was created by the agency) and creating unforgettable lines like ‘Isko Laga Dala toh Life jingalala’ for Tata Sky.
D. Rajappa, who was president Rediffusion Y&R between 2010 and 2013, and reported directly to Nanda for over a decade, said that he was a true blue chairman who believed in empowering people. “He had an amazing value system and was the conscience keeper of the agency. He always encouraged you to be fearless. He believed in substance over short term gains, and ran an entrepreneurial agency,” says Rajappa.
According to Rajappa, the reason Rediffusion became such a creative powerhouse was due to the well defined founding principles with which Nanda, Balakrishnan and Khan set up the agency. “The credo was to create advertising that would become part of language and culture, and change the way consumers related to a category and brand,” he says. Nanda guarded the founding principles zealously, he says, and demanded creative excellence.
His background
A gold medallist from IIM-Ahmedabad, Nanda joined Hindustan Lever as a management trainee and is credited with creating the famous lightning bolt association with Rin bar. He is also widely regarded as the father of political advertising in India as Rediffusion created a high decibel campaign for Congress party in the mid 1980s. A close friend of Rajiv Gandhi, he was part of the troika of Aruns – Arun Nehru, Arun Singh and Arun Nanda – that advised the former PM.
As Goyal says, “He was a friend and advisor of PM Rajiv Gandhi, and a member of his kitchen cabinet. Equally, he was a close confidante of Ratan Tata and served with him on the Air India Board.”
The friendship with Tata led to Rediffusion looking after many Tata brands for years. Nanda will be remembered as a man who dreamed big and took many audacious bets, most of which paid off.
Published on September 7, 2025
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