Gopala, who died of cancer at the age of 80 on Wednesday, entertained us, connected us and gave us a strong sense of time and place.

Harmandar Singh, publisher of Marketing magazine, summed it up in a tribute to his mentor: “You do not need an exclamation mark, you are the exclamation mark.”

Consumers can thank Gopala for the connection and recognition he gave the products we know and love today.

You know you’ve got an iconic commercial that deserves a national clap when the slogan becomes a phrase used in everyday life.

Like the decades-old slogan in Tamil, “Nai chap Guinness Stout, unggalukku nallathu”. That phrase, used in the 1970s commercial for Guinness, belongs to Gopala.

The first thing that comes to mind when one hears the words might be companionship over a dark beer but the phrase bridged the camaraderie of the various races as well.

It has stood the test of time and continues to spark nostalgic feelings, even among Malaysians whose only spoken Tamil are those words.

The words simply mean, “Dog brand Guinness Stout is good for you”. The Malay version went, “Guinness Stout baik untok kita.” It was promoted as a health tonic.

Dog, because the bottles had the bulldog logo, which was specific to the Malaysian market, while the symbol was of a cat in Singapore and a “red-tongued dog” that resembled a wolf for Indonesia.

The concept for the commercial was conceived by Gopala and his team at Ogilvy & Mather, alongside the likes of Faridah Merican, when alcohol advertising was then allowed over radio and television.

Gopala has been described by many in the advertising business as a ground-breaking commercials director whose ads were sometimes better than the film or television programme.

He unleashed some 5,000 entertaining commercials from the 1970s to 1990s, firing on all cylinders for its pop culture relevance, originality, and daring.

His famous works include the 1980s Malayan Banking ad in which a woman enters a bank with a tiger, that later lived in his house for a while.

He also won Malaysia’s first global creative award for Dunlop tyres and did the first Proton Saga commercial.

Advertising guru Rishya Joseph said Gopala’s restless efforts to expand the understanding of consumer habits helped redefine the creative industry and its innovative process.

He said Gopala’s creative nature allowed him to create facades that would change not only the public’s view of the product but would change the way advertising connected with consumers memorably.

“He always broke the limits, knowing that creativity will never be realised if there were stumbling blocks,” said Rishya, who worked with Gopala on several award-winning projects.

Rishya said the information minister from 1978 to 1982, Mohamed Rahmat, and his deputy, Dr Ling Liong Sik, leaned on Gopala to “understand the creative industry that had always wanted to stretch the limits and break the rules”.

Gopala changed the whole landscape of the cigarette industry in the 80s and 90s when showing people smoking cigarettes was banned, said Rishya.

“He worked with people like Harmandar and other creatives to embark on trademark diversification advertising.

“He dived into tourism-related businesses to show you can go on trips and enjoy life without showing anyone smoking cigarettes.

“His team circumvented the rules to still show the enjoyment of cigarettes in a creative way for Salem, Mild Seven, Benson & Hedges and other big brands in the country.

“In addition to the many genres he generated, he was the go-to person when it came to cigarette advertising,” said Rishya.

Gopala did the first formative film for satellite provider, Astro, founded by his older brother, business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan.

Said Rishya: “Gopala’s film transported people, who were used to seeing five channels, into different worlds with 30 channels, from action movies to music, drama and documentaries.

“His ingenuity helped pave the way for modern and digital advertising.”

Rishya said he was intrigued by Gopala’s interaction with children. “He took the effort to understand the insights of kids when doing a classroom film for Colgate on the importance of brushing teeth”.

Both Rishya and Harmandar regard Gopala as an avatar for the industry, raising the bar all the time.

Harmandar described him as a person “who never saw failure in anything. While we stood in shadows, Gopala stood in light”.

He said Gopala gave him his break in advertising and made “hundreds of stars and helped thousands, making them brave”.

“He was everyone’s ‘Don’ and invented the great advertising parties in the 80s. His Deepavali parties catered for hundreds if not thousands of guests. And we lived in his glory,” he said.

Gopala’s rise in advertising was helped by a career in RTM in the 1960s and later at a film school.

He is credited as the first owner of a local production house, Jemima Films, that produced commercials, TV dramas and provided back up services for feature films.

On a more humanitarian level, he did charity for disadvantaged children, the homeless and single mothers.

For leisure, he indulged in classic cars and one of his buddies in the hobby, Michael Sundram, said Gopala “lived his life to the fullest”.

Gopala is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Krishnan, two sons, one daughter and five grandchildren.

His final rites will be held today at 11am at the Loke Yew crematorium.