UG was not just a memorable character, he was a man of character

Farewell Captain,

I am lost in grief over the loss of my closest ally, the finest human being and one of the greatest writers of our times -- Uddalak Gupta, UG as we all know him.

I would like to share something about each of the three descriptors I’ve used here, in a rather long copy. He loved the long copy craft and reminisced eloquently about an era where writing meant something more.

UG, the writer

In an illustrious career spanning three decades, he wrote many stories that made brands. But his greatest stories made people.

That he was one of the greatest writers to walk the advertising landscape was well known in his days leading the creative mandate of several top agencies but perhaps the quality of his kind was starker in the current era where some well-placed ‘ad words’ and ‘tags’ passes off for great work.

He wrote about things he cared for. He wrote about stories that matter. He wrote about issues, relationships, emotions, and humanity. He wrote them all straight from his heart. He also wrote campaigns, manifestos, website copy, case studies, brand lines and social media posts with the same integrity. Nothing was beyond him and no work was beneath him.

He wrote notes of appreciation applauding even our smallest achievements. He was precision marketing at its best! He knew exactly the words that would lift us up and exactly when we needed them most.

UG, the human.

The advertising industry had always toasted its fair share of characters. People who entertained influenced and even inspired with their exaggerated styles, behaviours and mannerisms. UG matched and most often surpassed even out here.

Ponytails, piercings and tattoos paled in comparison with his signature hair flip. Even walls would shudder to adorn the colours of his pants that only he could carry off. Tony Greig would have approved of his sudden screams of joy or frustration in tune with the cricket scoreboard. He bumped into glass doors with the precision of a homing pigeon! Maybe he only saw the people inside and never the barriers that separate us. He was super competitive on the badminton court, in a chess game and even foosball. But he always shared his victories and never gloated over them.

His legendary absent-mindedness; searching for his car where he hadn’t parked, walking into the wrong buildings, trying to locate his water bottle that was already in his bag on his back, the stories are too many.

UG was not just a memorable character but more so he was a man of character. He was wise, he was wit, he was passion and he was style. UG was OG.

UG, the ally

He was a lot of things to us -- a friend who lent unconditional support; a mentor, who championed the best in our people; a guardian angel who fought for his team like a parent. These are not mere words. Each and every one of us in the team has so many personal stories to mean every word.

And he was our ally. He believed in our audacious vision when we set sail as StoryBoats. He was the founding team leader who always led by putting people ahead of him, giving us the belief that got us here. He loved our new office like a child who stepped into a candy store, seeing magic even in the mundane. We never felt the need to put our values, beliefs or codes on our walls because we had UG who walked and lived our sailor spirit. He defined, nurtured and shaped our culture every day. By just being UG.

I read a post from his friend who said that there is a UG in all of us. So true. Because UG brought the best in us, the emotion, the virtue or the work ethic that we wish to see in ourselves.

As this small team of sailors that he called his own grieves its greatest sailor; we row ahead knowing this truth. That while UG has left the building, he has left a lot in each of us to keep coming back to. We have something unique from UG that is ours. A privilege and pride, we will hold dear. We were his last love.

Farewell Captain.

We’ll miss you but we’ll always carry you in our hearts.