A G Krishnamurthy, founder of two top brands, Mudra Communications and MICA (formerly Mudra Institute of Communication Ahmedabad) is no more. He breathed his last today in Hyderabad at the age of 73.
AGK is best known for starting the Mudra Communications ad agency in Ahmedabad in 1980 with a startup capital of Rs 35,000. Its first campaign was the launch of apparel and textile brand Vimal with the tagline ‘Only Vimal’. Its second notable campaign was the launch of soft drink concentrate Rasna with the tagline ‘I love you Rasna’ in 1983. Both campaigns are still recalled today in advertising circles. In nine years, Mudra became the third largest ad agency in India and the first one located outside Mumbai. In 1998, Mudra positioned Peter England apparel brand as ‘The Honest Shirt’. It also coined the baseline for Life Insurance Corporation, ‘Zindagi ke saath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi‘, which continues to be used till today.
In March 1991, AGK established Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad, which is considered India’s first academic institution dedicated to communication and advertising studies. Today, MICA offers a wide-range of academic programmes and has grown to be a premier institute dedicated to creating leadership in Strategic Marketing and Communication. Its alumni are occupying leadership positions in some of the best known companies in India, in marketing, brand management, research and analytics.
AGK moved out of Mudra in 2003 and started his own consultancy AGK Brand Consulting. He wrote several books in English and Telugu on his experiences in the world of advertising. Prominent ones include The Invisible CEO, Ten Much, Lessons of an Advertising Practitioner and his autobiography, If You Can Dream.