Piyush Pandey, the creative visionary who gave Indian advertising its unique voice and spirit, passed away yesterday, Thursday, October 23, at the age of 70.
For more than four decades, Pandey was the face of Ogilvy India, as well as Indian advertising in general.
With his characteristic mustache, booming laugh, and profound grasp of the Indian consumer, he changed advertisements from English-language displays into stories about the country's daily life and emotions.
Pandey entered the world of advertising in 1982 at the age of 27, when the space was dominated by Anglophone and elite sensibilities. Through grounded language and Hindi idioms, he gave brands in India a distinct, culturally resonant voice and changed the country’s advertising industry forever.
His advertisements defied convention and talked to people in their own language. Asian Paints' "Har khushi mein rang laaye" campaign, Cadbury's "Kuch Khaas Hain" campaign, Fevicol's iconic "Egg" film, and Hutch's pug ad all became part of Indian popular culture, Hindustan Times reports.
Beyond commercial advertising, Pandey also lent his words to several public service campaigns by the Government of India. In 1988, he wrote the lyrics for 'Mile sur mera tumhara', which would become the anthem of India's Unity in Diversity. His copy for India's polio eradication campaign, "Do boond zindagi ki", delivered in veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan's unmistakable baritone, would help amplify the government's efforts to fight the epidemic.
He was also the brains behind the slogan of the Bharatiya Janata Party's 2014 Lok Sabha Election campaign, "Ab ki baar, Modi Sarkar", as well as the more personalised "Modi hain toh mumkin hain" in 2019.
Under his leadership, Ogilvy India became one of the world's most awarded agencies, earning 25 Cannes Lions. In 2018, he and his brother Prasoon Pandey were the first Asians to receive the Lion of St. Mark, the Cannes Lions' lifetime achievement award, for promoting Indian creativity on a global scale.
Pandey also made history as the first Asian jury president at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. He later earned the CLIO Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) and the Padma Shri in 2016, making him the first Indian advertising professional to achieve such recognition.
His earthy humour and storytelling instincts helped transform commercials into reflections of Indian life.
