ow a cricket match started a trend People always tell me that the 1980s were heady days for Mudra. I guess it was because we were smaller then, and the only qualification you needed to succeed in Mudra was to have a good idea. Almost all the good ideas which my team shared with me, saw the light of day and some heady moments in the limelight as well, when they received public applause.
One such brainwave, was what Shantanu Sheoray, our producer had when he was watching a cricket match between the West Indies and India. It suddenly occurred to him that the team would look good in Vimal and he gave me a call from the stadium itself, asking for permission to shoot a TV Commercial (TVC)! It all had to be done very quickly, because the team was flying out soon after the match. And we had no scripts, no budgets, no pre-approved estimates. I said yes and the rest is history. At supersonic speed, suits were sewn without measurements and with just random estimation, they were flown out to locations permission sought and Vimal Suitings� most memorable commercial, Viv Richards with his deep throated �Only Vimal� was born.
************************** If it didn�t exist, create it Mudra�s birth has a very unusual story. And was so typically Dhirubhai. There was a time when Vimal�s advertising was handled by Frank Simoes who also handled a competitive brand, Raymond. I was the Advertising Manager handling Vimal at Reliance. Now, all was well as long as the product range remained saris and dress material. But when suitings was added to the portfolio, Frank had to choose between the brands. He chose Raymond. Unfazed by this, Dhirubhai Ambani and I decided to open our own agency rather than taking the brand to another agency. And that is how Mudra was born.... more