Veteran adman Bobby Sista no more
Bobby Sista who was in his 90s passed away after prolonged illness at Breach Candy Hospital
Veteran adman Shambu Ventakrao Sista, known popularly as Bobby Sista, passed away on Saturday after prolonged illness. Sista breathed his last at Breach Candy Hospital. He was believed to be in his nineties.
He was one of the pioneering figures of Indian advertising with an experience that spanned half a century.
He got into advertising in the early 1950s in the footsteps of his father Venkatarao Sista, the founder-owner of India's first ad agency, Sista Sales and Publicity Services, founded in 1934. The agency was then christened AdArts, which was sold to Saatchi & Saatchi in 1998.
Bobby studied advertising in England along with his sister Subhadra. He is known for his pioneering work in Indian advertising in the '70s till the '90s. He was also the founder of Population First, an NGO that educates people about population and health issues. He also ran the consultancy Saffron.
He has held important offices in many industry bodies such as The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for two terms. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the AAAI in 2015.
