V Mahesh, group creative director at Ogilvy & Mather and the creator of Hutch’s path-breaking ‘wherever you go, our network follows' ad campaign passed away on March 20.
MUMBAI: We can’t change the world. At least, let’s not put it to sleep.
These are the words of V Mahesh, group creative director at Ogilvy & Mather and the creator of Hutch’s path-breaking ‘wherever you go, our network follows,” ad campaign. On the night of March 20, the ad industry lost a bright spark in Mahesh, who died following a massive heart attack.
For Mahesh, creativity emerged from the “finer bits of life” and it showed in the work for brands such as Lenovo, Bisleri and Titan.
Considered to be a veteran adman and Piyush Pandey’s blue-eyed boy, Mahesh, with partner Rajiv Rao, has the distinction of winning two gold and two silver lions at Cannes, a silver Pencil at One Show and two grand prizes at London International. Ogilvy’s office at Kamala Mills, Mumbai, was closed on Monday as Hutch officials and close peers attended Mahesh’s funeral in Kochi.
Naveen Chopra, chief marketing officer, Hutch, said, “Mahesh’s biggest strength was that he recognised that communications business is essentially about forging and connecting with some basic human emotions. It is this idea that helped us build Orange, and later Hutch, and made consumers relate with our services.”
Chopra added, “Mahesh’s creative signature was his soft, under-stated technique. You don’t have to be loud in order to be heard.”
Rao, his creative partner at O&M, remained inaccessible for the media.
Creative honcho Pushpinder Singh recalls Mahesh’s days at O&M, when his hearty laughter would ring across corridors. “When Mahesh laughed, the world stopped and stared. But it didn’t matter to him one bit. I think somewhere along the way, ad people, caught in between client briefs and deadlines, forget what it’s like to laugh with that kind of a childlike abandon. His demise makes me understand the value of life and all that we take for granted.”
R Balakrishnan, national creative director, Lowe, said, “I worked with Mahesh briefly at the Lowe ad awards and he struck me as an intelligent, perceptive human being and one of the best creative minds in the Indian ad business. The Hutch pug ad borrowed one simple aspect of life and strategically used it across all various media vehicles. I wish I was the creator of this ad.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}