O&M India celebrates 75th birthday with a difference

Today, August 28, 2003, O&M celebrates 75 years of operation in India. The festive spirit pervades all its divisions in the country - O&M Advertising, Ogilvy Public Relations, Ogilvy One, Ogilvy Outreach, Ogilvy Landscapes, Ogilvy Healthcare, Ogilvy Interactive et al. But amid the balloons, streamers, babble and the fun, the O&M family plans to do something unusual.

On the occasion of its 75th birthday, O&M India will extend a helping hand to the underprivileged by contributing to Concern India, Save the Children and Helping Hands, as agency executives shake a leg at their respective office premises.

In Delhi, an innovative auction conducted by Concern India will see O&M employees bid for services like ‘cleaning your colleagues car for a week', ‘working late in place of a team member', ‘baby sitting someone's kids for a day' etc. The highest bidder will get to buy the service and the amount will be donated to Concern India.

Save the Children will hold a variety show by underprivileged children and employees will donate household goods for their benefit. And Helping Hands will put up a stall to sell items like calendars and educative products for children. The sale proceeds will go to SOS Children's Village (SOS Children's Villages is a non-political welfare organisation. It is part of the worldwide SOS Children's Village movement).

Even as current employees bask in the might of the network and get a chance to pat each other's backs for their contribution in making O&M a force to reckon with, ex-employees have also been invited to relive their days at the organisation.

As the O&M family celebrates the occasion, let us step back a little to see how O&M came into existence in India. Part of the WPP Group of Companies, O&M was incorporated in India in August 1928 under the name DJ Keymer & Co Ltd. Effective February 3, 1958, the name of the company became Bomas Ltd, which was changed again to SH Benson (India) Pvt Ltd on March 30, 1967. On March 25, 1972, it was rechristened Ogilvy Benson & Mather Pvt. Ltd, to change to Ogilvy & Mather Pvt Ltd on the 10th day of February 1989. It became Ogilvy & Mather Ltd on September 20, 1989, to revert to Ogilvy & Mather Private Ltd effective April 27, 2001. © 2003 agencyfaqs!