Exclusive | Author Sujit Sanyal and his days In a rectangle!

Sujit Sanyal has made news with the launch of his debut book – Life In A Rectangle: The World Around 55B Mirza Ghalib Street. The book is a candid memoir where he has revealed intriguing stories about the advertising world since his days at Clarion Advertising in Calcutta.

 

Sujit Sanyal fondly recounts his days at Clarion Advertising. He  joined the ad agency in 1976 as an Executive Trainee and went on to become an Accounts Executive there. Recollecting memories of his days there he says “The socialistic fabric of Clarion had an additional attraction for me. It matched with my Left Oriented thinking.” Being the number two agency of the time he also remembers managing the advertising business of high profile brands such as Nescafe, Complan etc. He was associated with a galaxy of the finest brains in the industry like Sachi Mukherjee, Ramesh Thadani and Samir Sarkar.

 

With regard to his book and how it got it’s name, Sanyal says that he attributes this to his mentor. He told him that “any kind of advertising that we experience comes through a rectangular format, be it a print ad, a cinema ad or a bill board” Even devices to beam an ad like a computer, mobile  and ipod are all rectangular in shape.

The concept is all about anecdotal tales of life in advertising written with a hilarious touch for fun reading.

 

The change in the advertising industry is immense, has become more challenging and result oriented he says. “It is a sea change alright. Trying to communicate and reach to a select few in a country of 1.2 billion people,” says Sanyal. Originally there were only four major English newspapers but today there are 700 television channels. Advertising has moved from mass marketing to niche marketing, advertising to brand building, from a product led industry to a service industry and printed word to digital space.

 

According to him to be in any business it is important to know your roots and history to take it forward. Most consider advertising a job and it time that they be relaxed at the same time have a creative approach to the business. It does not mean reverting to an earlier lifestyle but enjoying it.

 

Globalization and its effect on the advertising industry is very evident he says. In India today a lot of decisions for choosing agencies for MNC brands are driven by their global agency alignment. “Today the top twelve agencies in India are all owned by international groups,” he says. But he feels that inspite of this happening, it is appreciable that the creative talents who are breaking off to be on their own are doing well.

 

The success of his book “Life In A Rectangle” is a dream come true for Sujit Sanyal. He was a free lance writer before he joined the advertising industry. He had been regularly writing columns and articles. He also edited “Admissive” India’s oldest advertising journal published by Advertising Club, Calcutta.

 

“Post my advertising life I naturally moved to writing and this is my second book. Hope it won’t be the last!” he says. Inspite of having a few projects in hand his preference even today is writing for columns on a regular basis.

Sanyal is glad that his book has been perceived as modest and unassuming.  “I have just written down stories, no preaching. As an ordinary guy in the business which I love, I have nothing special to offer,” says the modest Sanyal.

 

He concludes and confirms his unassuming nature by quoting a line from the movie of the yesteryears “Where Eagles Dare”. “Just a passerby if you please……”