Piyush Pandey, the legend who changed India’s advertising landscape, died on Friday morning at the age of 70. Born in Jaipur in 1955, he joined Ogilvy & Mather India in 1982 as a client-servicing executive and gradually rose through the ranks to become Executive Chairman and Creative Director.
Widely regarded as a giant of Indian advertising, Pandey was the mastermind behind some of the country’s most famous campaigns — including, but not limited to, Cadbury’s “Kuch Khaas Hai” and Asian Paints’ “Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai” slogans.
At a time when the advertising industry was dominated by Western aesthetics and English language, Piyush Pandey insisted on using Hindi and everyday Indian culture as a foundation for his campaigns. His insistence on using familiar language and local insight helped ads resonate deeply across India.
After his death, some of his most iconic ads resurfaced online as fans remembered the genius behind them.
Cadbury ad of 1990s
In the 1990s, Cadbury released an iconic advertisement featuring model Shimona Rashi that redefined how India saw chocolate.
Dressed in a cheerful outfit, Rashi sat by the cricket field, happily munching on a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk. When the batsman, implied to be her boyfriend, hit the winning run, she broke into an impromptu dance on the pitch, breezing past security as the tagline “Asli swaad zindagi ka” played in the background.
Created by ad agency Ogilvy, the campaign was widely praised for transforming the notion that chocolate was only for children, making it a treat for everyone.
60 years of Fevicol
More recently, Ogilvy’s ad celebrating 60 years of Fevicol allowed viewers to take a trip down memory lane.
The Fevicol sofa ad is a beautiful tribute to the durability of both – a simple piece of furniture and the emotional fabric of Indian homes.
Conceived by Ogilvy & Mather under Piyush Pandey, the 90-second film follows the journey of a sofa from its arrival as a wedding gift in the late 1950s through multiple decades of Indian life — from the black-and-white 60s to modern times — passing through several generations.
At the time of the ad film’s release in 2019, Piyush Pandey had said, “To me, Fevicol is not just an adhesive, but a cultural glue that salutes the people of India. Fevicol as a brand has followed this principle for 60 years. Advertising came into the picture much later. The 60-year TV ad and the entire communication salute the carpenter and her or his craft. Fevicol is the message. Ogilvy is only the messenger.”