Piyush Pandey, a pioneer in India's advertising industry known for many of his iconic advertisement campaigns, died early on Friday, at the age of 70.
He is regarded as the man who shaped the country’s advertisements and was behind the creation of the well-known ads of Fevicol, Cadbury, and Asian Paints.
Pandey died after suffering from an infection. His last rites will be performed at 11 am in Mumbai, NDTV reported.
Who is Piyush Pandey?
Piyush Oandey was born in Jaipur and was introduced to advertising early in his career when he and his brother Prasoon Pandey lent their voices to many radio jingles for household products. Later on, he went on to try many careers, including cricket, tea tasting, and construction. He joined Ogilvy, the British advertising agency, in 1982 at the age of 27.
Pandey was a central figure at the Ogilvy India for over four decades. There, he helped the company transform many brands that had English messaging to resonate with an Indian audience. The first advertisement worked on was for Sunlight Detergent.
His catchphrases for many brands, such as Asian paints (“Har khushi mein rang laaye”), Cadbury (“Kuch Khaas Hai” ), Fevicol, and Hutch, left an impact on pop culture in India.
He is also the man behind “Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 election campaign slogan and catchphrase. Later, he went on to become the company’s Chief Creative Officer Worldwide in 2019 and the Executive Chairman of India.
He became the recipient of the LIA Legend award in 2024 and the Padma Shri in 2016.
Pandey also worked on memorable campaigns like the Polio awareness campaign with Amitabh Bachchan, Fevikwik’s “Todo Nahin, Jodo", Ponds’ Googly Woogly Woosh, Vodafone’s ZooZoo campaigns, and campaigns for Gujarat Tourism, anti-smoking initiatives for the Cancer Patients Association. He said that the his best idea came from “the street, from life, from listening”.