MAM
A must-read ad & marketing book
Mumbai: Political advertising and marketing case studies might be a bit of a bore for many. But once you pick up ‘Don’t Forget 2004 – Advertising secrets of an impossible ELECTION VICTORY’ by Jayshree M Sundar and start flipping through its pages, you can’t put it down. Written in the manner of a fast-paced diary and personal narrative, it keeps you thirsting for more, and it hardly feels like you are reading. The pages flip by so fast, and before you know it, you are at the end of the book, a lot richer in your understanding of what politicians think like, how ad agency executives can interact with them, and what it takes to draw up a winning election strategy and brand campaign.
Jayshree should know. The senior advertising executive was heading the Delhi office of Leo Burnett India (once Chaitra Advertising founded by Walter Saldanha) when she got a call from Congress (I)’s senior leader Salman Khurshid’s office. The voice at the other end informed her that her agency was in the running to help the Congress (I) as it sought to make a comeback in the 2004 hustings at the Centre. The party had been out of power for more than a decade and a fierce opposition BJP was riding high with top media expecting it to win again by a thumping margin.
Some of us may have a recollection of the savage campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi titled “Labour is not working” which swept Margaret Thatcher’s conservatives to power in 1979. Jayshree, along with her team, took a similar tack, working against impossible deadlines for a client which had no idea about the political marketing direction it should take. What made it even more challenging was that the BJP was looking smug as hell, splurging top dollar on ads all over the nation talking about how India was shining.
The Congress (I) mandarins provided no brief and they had limited budgets. Jayshree and her team had to come up with the communication that would position the Congress (I) right and yet show up the failures of the outgoing BJP government. Agency executives had to work and communicate with political heavyweights like Sonia Gandhi, Salman Khurshid, Ambika Soni, Jairam Ramesh, Ahmed Patel, Rahul, and Priyanka Gandhi, Motilal Vora – folks who commandeered a lot of respect, and whom they had only seen on TV.
Through the book, you find out how she and the agency’s creatives pivoted to get quick answers through cheap and cheerful primary and secondary research. That and the fact that it approached the assignment as a regular brand campaign helped it come up with a pitch presentation that was bought by the steeped-in-the-old-ways-of-working Congress (I) senior leaders. The riposte to BJP’s India Shining slogan was “Aam aadmi ko kya mila?” “Congress Ka Haath aam aadmi ke Saath” and addressed the heartlands of India, against the former which was more focused on the urban Indian. The B&W visuals featured farmers, unemployed youth, the middle class and children, women as against the BJP’s well-dressed urban Indians.
The book details how the agency came up with the four phases of the campaign, the steps it took to maintain utmost secrecy while creating the campaign, and later when ads and TVCs were released to publications and TV channels in various languages all over the country.
Jayshree’s effort is not just all about words; she has peppered the book with advertising artwork which made it to the newspapers over the various phases of the campaign.
The Leo Burnett team’s communication and marketing strategy did work well if you recollect. Despite the BJP’s bigger advertising war chest, it and its allies managed to retain only 185 seats (1999 count 298). The Congress (I) however celebrated as it individually captured 145 seats (against 112 seats in 1999) and 220 seats (as against 135 in 1999) with its allies. It of course came to power, and the rest they say is history.
‘Don’t Forget 2004’ is a must-read for students and practitioners of marketing and advertising as well as those in the political ranks, given that there is very limited literature available on political advertising. It is rich in detailing the learnings the agency had while working on the Congress (I) campaign. Be sure to pick up a copy.
(Don’t Forget 2004- Advertising secrets of an impossible ELECTION VICTORY – Jayshree M Sundar, pp284, publisher Vitasta Publishing, Rs 495)
You can buy it on Amazon too by clicking on this link: https://www.amazon.in/-/hi/Jayshree-M-Sundar/dp/9390961289
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
