The Unforgettable Ad Gurus and their Invaluable Lessons

It’s amazing that although the advertising industry has evolved tremendously over the years, we still tend to quote Ogilvy when we are in need of inspiration; we refer to some brilliant work done by Leo Burnett, Piyush Pandey or Prasoon Joshi when we want to demonstrate a really creative concept. Most of the doctrines taught by them and their contemporaries are timeless and still hold good, even in this age of digital invasion and social media revolution. That is why they are revered as infallible Ad Gurus and their mantras are hailed with respect in contemporary times.

David Ogilvy –

Very rightly called the ‘father of advertising’, he was the first to place the customer at the focal point; in his own words, the customer is not a moron, she is your wife! He meticulously researched into human behaviour and believed that true knowledge about the consumer was indispensable for creating the right ads. According to him, ideas were only as good as the results they achieved. He was a great believer of professional discipline and always encouraged the ‘eureka moment’ or the big idea that essayed creative genius. Who can forget his iconic copy lines – “At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in the New Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock”, “The man in the Hathaway shirt”or “Only Dove is one-quarter moisturizing cream” – each of them translated into instant success for the respective brands! His words of wisdom still guide the eager advertising professionals of today.

Leo Burnett –

Named as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century by Time magazine, Burnett believed in creating dramatic imagery that could emotionally connect with the consumers. His well-known concepts revolved around mythical brand icons that upheld important values and ethics. Remember Marlboro Man and Pillsbury Doughboy? They carry forward the traditional ‘macho-man’ concept till date with élan. Burnett also maintained the habit of jotting down interesting words and phrases that impressed him, and often referred to them for creative inspiration.

Piyush Pandey –

He is our very own Ad guru and true heir to the Ogilvy legacy in India. He has taken Ogilvy to the zenith, maintained it at the top spot for 12 consecutive years, placed Ogilvy India on the global map and is currently the Chief Creative Officer Worldwide and Executive Chairman India, for the organization. Quite naturally, he has been bestowed with the Padmashri for his achievements. His campaign for the BJP government, “mera desh badal raha hai, aage badh raha hai” has been highly successful in recent times; also, who can forget his extremely innovative Fevicol, Fevikwik and Cadbury dairy milk campaigns!

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Prasoon Joshi –

Also a Padmashri awardee, he began his career in the advertising world with Ogilvy but later switched to McCann-Erickson and is now the CEO of McCann World group India and Chairman APAC. His “thanda matlab Coca-Cola” campaign with Aamir Khan was a winner at Cannes, and his Happydent TVC was declared one of the 20 best ads of the 21st century by a Gunn Report poll. Backed by his strong musical culture, he coined the hit lyrics for CNN IBN’s advertising jingle “India Rising”and Coke’s “Ummeed wali dhoop”.

Of course, these are only a few of the many illustrious names in the ad world. Many more like William Bernbach, Marion Harper Jr., Rosser Reeves in the global arena and Prahlad Kakkar, R. Balki, Josy Paul, Sam Balsara, Alyque Padamsee in the national scene have created a special niche for themselves in the creative world. They can rightfully be called the Ad Gurus who continue to inspire generations in the advertising world.