Subroto Sengupta, the Doyen of Indian Advertising Passes Away

Press Release
Subroto Sengupta, the Doyen
of Indian Advertising Passes Away

Advertising guru, Subroto Sengupta, passed away on the night of February 29 at Kolkata in a city nursing home. He was 85 and is survived by his wife and a daughter.

One of the founder directors of Clarion, Sengupta had also worked for A&M and was consultant to The Johns Hopkins University and the Population Communication Services of the Union government. He was a successful teacher and wrote books on brand positioning and ad campaigns. Infact, for an entire generation of management, marketing and communications graduates in the country, the name Subroto Sengupta instantly conjures up the image of a bright green book with ‘Brand Positioning’ printed in white block letters across its face. Indeed, Brand Positioning is as much Professor Sengupta’s identity as it is his legacy to Indian advertising and marketing.

Sengupta joined the British agency D. J. Keymer along with stalwarts like Tara Sinha, film director Satyajit Ray and S N Banerji. When Keymer’s shut shop, a handful of people including Sengupta set up Clarion Advertising, which has now morphed into Bates India.

He was a regular lecturer at the Indian Institutes of Management at both Ahmedabad and Calcutta. Students say that there was a rush to take Sengupta’s advertising course in IIM-A, where he got both daCunha and marketing stalwart Shunu Sen to teach advertising judgement.

It is said that Sengupta did a systematic examination of positioning concepts and methodologies and applied it to the Indian situation. The Indian concern was only with pricing and distribution till then. Today, thanks to Sengupta, Hindustan Lever’s Pear’s soap is positioned as a transparent offering. He is also credited with Complan’s positioning of a complete family food with 23 vital ingredients.

Ad man. Author. Academician. Kolkata-based Professor Sengupta was truly a many of many parts. And with his passing, an era comes to a close. The constant exploring and seeking out of answers may have come to a stop. Then again, maybe not. Chances are that the professor has quietly, even unknowingly, bequeathed that legacy to some of his devoted students. That being the case, it is by that legacy - and that bright green book with white block lettering - that Indian advertising will remember Prof Sengupta.