Rediffusion, once known as the Red Hot Creative Agency, turns 50

‘Gimme Red’ – remember that iconic Eveready campaign or the evocative ‘Whenever you see colour, think of us’ line for Jenson & Nicholson, Rediffusion, the agency that created these memorable campaigns living up to its ‘Red Hot Creative Agency’ tagline, turned 50 this weekend. Launched on 2 July, 1973, by Diwan Arun Nanda, Ajit Balakrishnan, and Mohammed Khan, the agency started with a big promise. “We will create advertising that becomes famous, part of the language and the culture of the people,” said Nanda.

Sandeep Goyal and Tanya Goyal of Mogae Group bought out the original owners in 2021. From 1994 to 2018, Japanese ad giant Dentsu and Madison Avenue-based Young & Rubicam (WPP) held 20 per cent equity ownership in the agency. “Rediffusion has been a trailblazer in the Indian advertising business. We are proud of all that we have achieved over the past five decades. We have been the platinum standard for clients and brands – everything a great agency ought to be,” said its MD Sandeep Goyal in a statement.

Notable achievements

Looking back on its work over five decades, Rediffusion can take pride in having launched brands like Airtel, Garden Vareli and helped build a new positioning for brands like Maruti. Among others, it did some memorable work for Lakme, Garden Vareli, Bush, Jaisalmer, Himalayan, Colors TV, Exide, Eveready, Kaya, and Officer’s Choice. Many global brands like Pepsi, Colgate Total, Canon, Casio, KFC, Lufthansa, United Airlines, and Revlon, among others, were first launched in India by Rediffusion. Campaigns like Laga dala toh life jhinga lala for Tata Sky are still high on customer recall.

Entrepreneur D Rajappa, Founder of Aamrass Digimarc, who joined Rediffusion as an Account Director and went on to become its President in 2010, says not only did the agency have the image of a “red hot creative agency” but it also was known for its entrepreneurial spirit and the way it chased business growth.

Innovative approach

Rajappa who worked initially in the Delhi office with Sandeep Goyal and Sabyasachi (Gullu) Sen remembers how the agency rode on the post-liberalisation wave to get some great business and did heady work. Airtel’s iconic Live Every Moment with A R Rahman captured the imagination of the nation. It was one of the most downloaded tunes.

He recalls how post-liberalisation Maruti suddenly faced challenges from Daewoo and others and Rediffusion had helped craft the narrative of a pan-India service presence for Maruti – one of the most famed TV commercials of the auto brand. The ‘Kancha’ ad shot in Leh-Ladakh highlighted that Maruti Service stations existed in the remotest of places where you might not get something to eat even.

“I was fortunate to work the first ten years under the mentorship of Sandeep and Gullu and the next ten years under the direct mentorship of Ajit Balakrishnan and Arun Nanda,” says Rajappa, saying how Rediffusion with its DNA of meritocracy and unique culture was one of the most desired places to work.

Current portfolio

Currently, the agency, according to Tanya Goyal, its Executive Director is India’s largest independent agency, employs nearly 400 employees. It is handling advertising for brands such as Parle, BMW, Tata Trusts, Dabur, Taj Hotels, Kansai Nerolac, Tata Power, L&T Realty, Orra, Brookfield, Liebherr, Zydus, LIC, Indian Oil, Shyam Steel, Himalaya Opticals, Delhi Duty-Free, Tata Motors, Apar Industries, Malabar Gold, ICICI Direct, Capri, Rasna, 99 acres among others.

Rediffusion today has three subsidiary agencies – Everest (digital first), Next by Rediffusion (new age brands), and Wellth (healthcare). It recently launched Ladyfinger – an all-women’s ad agency.

Recently, the University of Lucknow and Rediffusion have come together to launch The Bharat Lab to track and analyse consumers from the country’s heartland. It also created the Bharat font in 2022 to commemorate 75 years of Indian independence.

As the agency looks forward to its next 50 years, Rajappa says it all hinges on how well it tackles digital. “Gone are those days when creative was the backbone of an ad agency. Today it is strategy plus creative plus tech. To claim its place of glory, it needs to be on top of all three,” he says.

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