MUMBAI: It was just eight years ago on 8 February 2010 that Mani Ayer, the revered managing director of Ogilvy & Mather, whom Ranjan Kapur succeeded in 1993, passed away. And very close to that date-on 27 January-came the news that Kapur himself had breathed his last.
To Kapur goes the credit of shaping Ogilvy & Mather into the powerhouse it is today. He had Piyush Pandey on his team. And, mind you, Piyush, who was already gaining a reputation under Ayer, grew under his guidance and freedom into one of the sharpest creative minds in India, dazzling clients with his sheer gift of selling ad concepts and copy for brands. And to check Pandey’s occasional extravagance, Kapur had SN Rane, the finance head who kept an eagle eye on spends.
Kapur was a feisty corporate chieftain; he had growth ambitions for his agency. He also wanted quality work for his clients. He often called himself a maverick and encouraged entrepreneuralism. He often quipped: “If you can’t say it in the headline, then why bother about the copy.”
I remember interacting with him a couple of times in the nineties when I was writing for Asian Advertising & Marketing Hong Kong. He was quick to respond to any query I sent out to him about Ogilvy & Mather as he was familiar with the publication’s popularity in the region since he was posted in Singapore prior to being brought to India. He had a sharp, very business oriented mind. He could also throw in his laugh, along with his signature brevity, dressed in double breasted suits as he used to be then.
And he was only a call away when I reached out to him on launching indiantelevision.com.
My contributions in terms of analysing and writing on the world of advertising waned. As did my interactions with him. But every time I bumped into him at an Ad Club or AAAI or television industry gathering, he would break into his big grin, with his wife Jimi in proximity, and wish me a polite hello.
My last conversation with him was when I called on him to be a panellist at our music industry conference Nokia Music Connects in 2010 to talk about the role of music in advertising. I reminded him about our earlier interactions and he agreed to join the panel. And as I interviewed him and another vet Lyn deSouza on stage, he was crystal clear that the ad industry was not paying enough emphasis on the use of sound in advertising. He advised all the players in the music ecosystem to come together and figure out ways to interest brands and agencies to put their money behind music.
Sadly, I just bumped into him a couple of times after that. And he was always warm. But my memory is that Kapur was the life of every advertising gathering. He had some anecdote or some experience to share, which would liven up the proceedings. He chose to mentor many a young advertising wannabe, who has today risen up in the ranks in various agencies.
With Kapur gone, now only Prem Mehta, who was heading Lintas at the time Ranjan came in, is left of the three Punjabi-speaking heavyweights who ruled the ad world in the early nineties. Mike Khanna who led HTA passed away a couple of years ago.
Speaking to Harvard Business Review (HBR) sometime back, Kapur had shared that as a 23-24 year old, he was bored with being a banker at Citibank despite all the money he made. Hence, he asked to be relieved but was put in charge of advertising for the bank—the first time it was attempting to do so—and dealt with its agency Lintas. He loved it so much, he begged the Lintas guys to get him a job. They said no as they feared losing the Citibank account if they did so. But they helped him get a job with Benson’s (as Ogilvy & Mather was known then). That was more than 52-53 years ago and he stayed with the agency for 37 plus years and the remainder with the WPP group.
So obsessed was he with advertising, that he confessed he missed out on celebrating his wedding anniversaries on several occasions and even his daughter Tina growing up— something he admitted to regretting in the HBR interview.
Over the last few years, he had been occupied with the ISDI WPP School of Communication in order to nurture the next bunch of Mad Men or Math Men (as Martin Sorrel likes to call them) and hopefully plug the huge talent gap that the industry faces.
In the beginning for Kapur there was advertising. As it will be for those who graduate from the school and begin their careers in agencies.
Indiantelevision.com raises a toast in gratitude to Kapur. RIP Ranjan.
Kapur’s passing away shocked many in the ad world who posted their grief online:
Saddened to hear about Ranjan Kapur. An architect of the Advertising industry in India. Cherish the moments spent with him and Jimi
— Prasoon Joshi
Deeply deeply saddened at the passing on of RANJAN KAPUR: a great advertising professional and an even greater human being. The world is much much poorer with his death.
— Suhel Sheth
They say nothing grows under a mighty banyan tree. Ranjan was the rare exception. Many a giant oak flourished in the sunlight of his shadow. My heart breaks for Jimi and Tina. It breaks for all of us who were blessed to have him in our lives.
— Bobby Pawar
A very very sad day for Indian advertising. RIP Ranjan Kapur. I am lucky to have worked with him – he was one of the biggest influences on many of us at that time. They don’t make them like him anymore. The biggest chapter of Indian advertising just got concluded.
— Partha Sinha
I met Ranjan Kapur as an Ogilvy intern a couple of times. He was always kind. Sad to hear of his passing.
So sad to hear about the passing of Ranjan Kapur. He was so generous to me with his time and wisdom in setting up the @WPP_Govt in India and @KantarPublic. A lovely man.
— Gaurav Jain
My finest boss ever ! RIP Ranjan Kapur
Saddened to hear that #Ranjan Kapur is no more. Can’t believe it. The end of an era of statesmanship and grace in advertising. RIP.
Goodbye #RanjanKapur .. Will never forget your spirit, warmth and constant sense of wonder .. the world will miss you ..
— Pratop Bose
