Piyush Pandey, Padma Shri recipient and architect of Indian advertising, passes away at 70

Piyush Pandey, the legendary creative visionary who reshaped Indian advertising, passed away at 70 on Thursday.

He is survived by his family, his colleagues who became his extended family, and a body of work that continues to define the heart and soul of Indian advertising.

Celebrated as the person who gave Indian advertising its distinctive voice and character, Pandey dedicated more than 40 years to Ogilvy India, the agency that became closely associated with his name and creative vision.

Piyush Pandey's work

Pandey joined Ogilvy in 1982 after brief experiences as a cricketer, tea taster, and construction worker. At 27, he entered an advertising world dominated by English. His campaigns for Asian Paints (Har khushi mein rang laaye), Cadbury (Kuch Khaas Hai), Fevicol, and Hutch turned advertisements into cultural landmarks.

Through his work, Pandey brought Hindi and everyday Indian expressions into mainstream advertising, infusing them with humour, warmth, and humanity. “He changed not just the language of Indian advertising. He changed its grammar," Storyboard18 quoted a long-time colleague as saying.

Pandey often cautioned young creatives against following technology or trends at the expense of originality. “Somewhere, you need to touch the hearts,” he once said, adding, “No audience is going to see your work and say, ‘How did they do it?’ They will say, ‘I love it.’”

Even as India’s advertising scene evolved, Pandey’s influence remained strong. He helped craft one of India’s most memorable political slogans, “Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar,” but his deeper legacy lies in the generations of storytellers he inspired to embrace authenticity in the local, the emotional, and the real.

He once said that the best ideas come “from the street, from life, from listening.”

Under his guidance, Ogilvy India became one of the world’s most awarded agencies and a breeding ground for generations of creative leaders. In 2018, Pandey and his brother, filmmaker Prasoon Pandey, became the first Asians to receive the prestigious Lion of St Mark at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, recognition for a lifetime of work that elevated Indian storytelling on a global stage.

When he stepped down as Executive Chairman of Ogilvy India in 2023 to assume an advisory role, it marked the quiet conclusion of a chapter written in bold, resonant Hindi and sealed with his characteristic wry smile.