Piyush Pandey, who made Cadbury & Fevicol household names, dies at 70—5 ads that made India laugh, cry, celebrate

Piyush Pandey, the Padma Shree award-winning creative visionary who gave Indian advertising its distinct voice and soul, died on Thursday at the age of 70. Born in Jaipur, Piyush Pandey is survived by his wife, Nita Pandey.

For over four decades, Pandey stood as the face of Ogilvy India - and of Indian advertising itself. He joined the agency in 1982 after brief experiences as a cricketer, tea taster, and construction worker.

At 27, Piyush Pandey entered an advertising world solely dominated by English. He transformed the industry by crafting campaigns that spoke in every Indian idiom, rooted in emotion and cultural nuance.

Here are his top five campaigns to remember his legacy.

“Kuch Khaas Hai” – Cadbury Dairy Milk

Cadbury’s 1993 Kuch Khaas Hai ad, featuring a young woman savouring her chocolate bar while anticipating a six, then running onto the cricket pitch, dancing in joy as the batsman scores the winning run, remains one of the most memorable moments in advertising history.

Directed by Shantanu Shorey and conceptualised by Piyush Pandey’s team at Ogilvy, the ad received a lot of love from the Indian audience as it introduced a fresh wave of storytelling.

“Fevicol ka Jod” – Fevicol

Fevicol’s marketing ads are so impactful that Indians collectively call every adhesive brand ‘Fevicol.’ Two of the brand's most well-known campaigns are — a bus crammed with passengers held together by Fevicol ka jod and the iconic egg that won’t break.

These ads received love and traction from the audience as Fevicol managed to turn a dull industrial adhesive into a beloved cultural icon.

“Ab ki baar, Modi sarkaar” — BJP election campaign

The BJP campaign has arguably been one of the most politically influential ones in Indian advertising history. In 2014, when the Narendra Modi-led party was looking to shift India’s political landscape, they turned to Ogilvy and Piyush Pandey.

Since then, the famous lines — Abki Baar, Modi Sarkar — have echoed in every household and shop's TV screens. The ad featuring Modi at its centre proved to be powerfully persuasive and helped the BJP win the elections with a historic mandate.

“Wherever you go, our network follows” — Hutch's pug campaign

Hutch, the former name for a mobile network operator, which was later rebranded as Vodafone India in 2007, made one of its most loved ads, featuring a pug following a boy wherever he goes.

With the tagline “Wherever you go, our network follows”, the campaign combines charm, relatability, and the assurance of uninterrupted mobile service.

“Har Ghar Kuchh Kehta Hai” — Asian Paints

This ad shows eight scenarios, from a young couple personalising their walls to a food vlogger filming in his kitchen, supported by his grandmother. Each scene captured the everyday moments that transform a house into a home.

The familiar, calm and poetic voiceover emphasised that a home's true essence lies not in its structure but in the lives that live within. Har Ghar Kuchh Kehta Hai won the hearts of many viewers as it directly struck an emotional chord.