The Story of Arun Nanda, the Adman Who Built Rediffusion
Give me red. Two words, shouted with a fist in the air, sold Eveready batteries to a generation and became one of Indian advertising's most quoted lines. The agency behind it was Rediffusion, and the man who built and led that agency for half a century was Diwan Arun Nanda.
Who he was
Arun Nanda was one of the founding figures of modern Indian advertising, the businessman and adman who co-founded Rediffusion in 1973 and chaired it for around fifty years. He was known for class, conviction and a refusal to back down in front of clients, and he built one of the country's most respected creative agencies from scratch.
Early life and background
Nanda was a gold medallist from the first batch of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, one of the most storied graduating classes in Indian business. He began his career at Hindustan Lever as a management trainee and became a brand manager, work that gave him a marketer's discipline long before he opened an agency.
Into advertising
On the second of July 1973, Nanda joined Ajit Balakrishnan and Mohammed Khan to found Rediffusion. It grew into an institution, later evolving through international partnerships into Rediffusion Y and R and Rediffusion DY and R. Nanda remained its chairman for decades, stepping down only in 2023.
Signature work
Under Nanda's leadership Rediffusion produced some of the most memorable Indian advertising of its time. The Eveready "Give Me Red" campaign for batteries, later carried by Amitabh Bachchan, became a national catchphrase. Gold Spot was sold as the Zing Thing. The agency handled the launch of Lakme, wrote "Whenever you see colour, think of us" for Jenson and Nicholson paints, and gave Red and White cigarettes a line that stuck. Nanda himself was the business leader and chairman rather than the copywriter, but the agency's standards were his.
Rediffusion's Eveready "Give Me Red," the campaign that entered the language:
Another film from the same long running campaign:
Creative style
Nanda's ambition for the agency was set from the very first day, and he framed it as building fame, not just selling products.
"We will create advertising that becomes famous, part of the language and the culture of the people changing forever how they look at a brand."
He also had an unshakeable confidence in Rediffusion's pull. When a young colleague once worried that clients might leave, Nanda brushed it aside.
"Ambi, where will they go. Where will they go my friend."
Industry impact
Beyond the campaigns, Nanda helped shape the business of Indian advertising. He served twice as President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India, advised the government at senior levels, and sat on the boards of major companies. A long line of well known admen, including Ambi Parameswaran, began their careers under him at Rediffusion.
Awards and recognition
Nanda received the advertising industry's lifetime achievement recognition and led its trade body twice as president. Rediffusion under him earned a place in the history of Indian advertising that few agencies can match, and his own name became a byword for a certain style and standard.
What the industry says
"Arun Nanda had class. Though he never flaunted. Just wore it effortlessly."
Sandeep Goyal, Chairman and Managing Director, Rediffusion
"While ad agency executives today fight shy of taking any stand in front of clients, Arun Nanda was ready to fight."
Ambi Parameswaran, adman and author
"It is Diwan Saheb, the style icon of Indian advertising, that the industry will miss."
Sandeep Goyal, Chairman and Managing Director, Rediffusion
Legacy
Diwan Arun Nanda died on 6 September 2025 in Mumbai, having stepped down from Rediffusion only two years earlier. Among Indian advertising legends he is remembered as a founder in the truest sense, a man who built an agency from nothing, held it to a standard for fifty years, and carried himself with a grace the industry still talks about.
Advertisement
