The Story of Mohammed Khan, the Gentleman Who Built Three Iconic Agencies
Sunday ho ya Monday, roz khao ande. Millions of Indians can still sing the line, a cheerful instruction to eat eggs every day of the week. Behind that piece of pop culture was an agency called Enterprise and a founder who had learned his craft in the advertising of 1960s London. His name is Mohammed Khan, and he is often called the gentleman of Indian advertising.
Who he is
Mohammed Khan is one of the most respected figures in the history of Indian advertising, unusual for having helped build not one but three of its landmark agencies. He co-founded Rediffusion, ran the creative side of Contract, and founded Enterprise, the shop that made his name. He is remembered for elegance, restraint and beautifully written long copy at a time when much of the industry was still learning on the job.
Early life and background
Khan left India for England at the age of twenty, carrying an honours degree in English. He learned advertising in London during what he still calls its golden age, starting in the media department at Garland Compton and spending close to nine years as a copywriter in the city. When he returned, he brought back the standards of that world and a conviction that Indian advertising could be just as good.
Into advertising in India
Back home he worked at MCM in Bombay, one of the era's most creative shops. In 1973 he joined Diwan Arun Nanda and Ajit Balakrishnan to co-found Rediffusion, an agency that would become an industry institution. He later moved to Contract, and then, in 1983, he founded the agency that would define him, Enterprise Advertising, later Enterprise Nexus.
Signature work
Khan's portfolio is a lesson in doing more with less. At Enterprise he created the NECC egg campaign, "Sunday ho ya Monday, roz khao ande," which is credited with changing the fortunes of the Indian egg industry. He told Vadilal to stop drawing ice cream and start photographing the real thing, with a line he still repeats. At Contract he built Lakme into a market leader on a fraction of a rival's budget, and he launched Charms cigarettes on the promise that Charms was the spirit of freedom. He also wrote some of the finest long copy of the period, including a corporate advertisement for Enterprise that ran to hundreds of words and drew hundreds of letters from readers.
The NECC egg campaign that a generation grew up singing:
Creative style
Khan believes advertising is a craft of restraint and teamwork, not ego, and he is wry about how the business has changed.
"I came from the golden age of advertising to the stone age of advertising."
He has always insisted that great work is never the achievement of a single person.
"Advertising can never be a one-man show."
Industry impact
By helping to found Rediffusion, Contract and Enterprise, Khan shaped three of the agencies that trained modern Indian advertising. He championed writing at a time when the craft of copy was often overlooked, and he showed that a smaller Indian agency could produce work as disciplined and elegant as anything abroad.
Awards and recognition
In January 2014 Khan was inducted into the Indian Creativity Hall of Fame, honoured for creating iconic brands and for inspiring a generation of creative talent. He has served on major international juries, including Cannes, Clio and D and AD, and his agencies collected a long list of national and international awards.
What the industry says
Named tributes to Khan are quieter than his work deserves, in keeping with a man known for stepping out of the spotlight. When the industry inducted him into its Creativity Hall of Fame, the citation captured why he matters, honouring him for creating iconic brands that changed the face of advertising in India, and as a legend who inspired an entire generation of creative talent. The trade press still refers to him simply as a living legend and the founder of three of the country's iconic agencies.
Legacy
Mohammed Khan remains one of the most admired names in Indian advertising, invited as a guest of honour at industry events well into recent years. Among Indian advertising legends he is proof that taste travels. He carried the discipline of London's best years into India, built agencies that outlived their launches, and reminded the business that a well written line, delivered with restraint, can outlast almost anything.
Related on Ad Tribe: Indian Ad Legends: The Story of Piyush Pandey, the Man Who Taught Brands to Speak Like India.
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