Legendary adman Piyush Pandey has died at the age of 70 years on Friday morning. He was considered as one of the most influential figures in the world of advertising, credited with the creation of some of the most iconic ad campaigns.
Pandey was the Executive Chairman India and Chief Executive Officer of Ogilvy and was the recipient of the LIA Legend Award (2024) as well as the Padma Shri (2016). His distinctive work gave a voice to Indian advertising, turning Ogilvy into one of the leading advertising agencies.
The journey of this legendary adman has started in the year 1982 when he became associated with Ogilvy as a client servicing executive with his first assignment being for Sunlight, the detergent brand.
His work was a catalyst in taking the advertising industry to newer heights and created campaigns such as Abki Baar Modi Sarkar -the 2014 election campaign for BJP and the famous slogan ‘achche din aane wale hain’, the Polio ad campaign with actor Amitabh Bachchan, Fevicol ad campaigns – Fevicol sofa, Fevicol Fish, Fevicol Bus,, Fevikwik ad campaigns such as ‘Todo Nahin Jodo’, Ponds Googly Woogly Woosh ad, Cadbury ‘Kuch Khaas Hai’ campaign, campaigns for Indian tourism, Anti Smoking campaigns for Cncer Patients Association, the Indian patriotic song ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’.
He has won numerous awards and named as the most influential man in Indian advertising for eight consecutive years by The Economic Times. In the year 2000, his commercial for Fevikwik was named by the Ad Club of Mumbai as the commercial of the century. At the Media Asia Awards 2002, he was voted as Asia’s Creative Person of the Year and he is the only Indian to win a double gold at Cannes and a triple grand prize at the London International Awards. During his tenure, Ogilvy had won 25 lions at Cannes and in 2002, he has won the First Silver Pencil at The One Show Awards.
The entire advertising industry and alike has mourned his death.
