For Ambi Parameswaran, the brand strategist and former CEO of FCB Ulka, Kerala is not new. He has visited the state many times and has roots here. His grandfather is from Kerala while his wife was born and brought up in Thiruvananthapuram. He was in Kochi to introduce his eighth book Nawabs Nudes Noodles: India through 50 years of advertising.
About the evolution of the book, he says, “When I discussed the idea, my agent told me that I should write a book on the history of Indian advertising as I have 39 years of experience in the industry. I told him that I can write a book, which looks at the Indian society through the lens of advertising.”
As he is not a historian, Ambi chose a different path to chronicle the era. “In the book, I slice advertising through various lenses. I describe how advertising portrayed different aspects. For instance, in one chapter, I talk about how marriages are depicted in advertising,” says Ambi. “The book has 24 chapters arranged in four sections. The first section is about people while the second is about products. The third and fourth sections talk about services and ad narratives respectively.”
It took him more than a year to complete the book. “The book took a year of research and another one of writing. I would write only on weekends. During the course of writing, I must have read at least 30 books on Indian advertising, both old and recent ones. And many articles. Then, I spoke to several experts and professors. I must have spoken to 15 different domain experts prior to writing it,” he explains.
Quiz him about the quirky title, he says, “We wanted a catchy title. ‘India through her advertising was the working title. I always had a fascination for alliterative titles like Amar Akbar Anthony. So, we thought of trying something like that. At the same time, we needed a provocative and significant name. That's how it happened. ‘Nawab’ is used because Nawab Pataudi used to model for a suit brand. ‘Nude’ is there because advertising has used it. There have been controversies surrounding that. And ‘noodles’ is topical. Noodles became popular in this country due to the power of advertising," explains Ambi who wants more talents to enter the advertising industry. “We want young, smart people to come to advertising. I believe this book would lead at least a few who haven't considered this industry before to advertising. Then, I would consider myself successful.”
