Piyush Pandey, one of the most influential figures in Indian advertising, passed away, leaving behind a legacy that transformed how India spoke, laughed, and felt through its brands.
For over three decades, he shaped the voice of Indian advertising a voice that was warm, witty, and deeply human. His campaigns for Fevicol, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Asian Paints, and Hutch weren’t just advertisements; they became part of India’s collective memory. Whether it was a line like “Fevicol ka mazboot jod hai, tootega nahi” or “Kuch khaas hai zindagi mein”, his words found a place in everyday conversations, crossing languages, classes, and generations.
Pandey had the rare gift of seeing extraordinary stories in ordinary lives. He spoke to India in its own language — with simplicity, humour, and heart. At a time when much of the industry looked West for inspiration, he looked inward, rooting his creativity in the soil of Indian experience. His work didn’t just sell products; it celebrated relationships, nostalgia, and emotions that every Indian could recognise.
Today, as the advertising and creative fraternity mourns his passing, it is not just the end of an era; it is the loss of a storyteller who made brands feel human and made people feel seen. Piyush Pandey didn’t just redefine Indian advertising; he helped India rediscover its voice.
As the man who shaped Indian advertising for decades, Piyush Pandey left an indelible mark on everyone he worked with.Here’s what some of his industry folks has to say:
Amer Jaleel, cofounder of Curativity, shows up Pandey’s influence with awe and humour, “All his awards, contributions, and halls of fame aside, Piyush probably added more rupee-value to more brands than any other single person in marketing — including Ogilvy! In the Lintas of yore, it was an almost weekly ritual — gnashing our teeth at his new work, and tearing our hair at his simplicity. It was Piyush who made advertising worth competing in.”
Shashank Lanjekar, National Strategy Head at DDB Mudra Group, reflects on what he learned from observing Pandey: “Your specific domain of interest has transference. It can travel across other domains and inspire your own signature style. His was cricket — singularly. His anecdotes, insights, and life lessons all came from the sport. His way of life was that of a fearless front-foot batsman. That spirit is seen in Cadbury’s Kuch Khaas Hai and in his IPL piece, Karmyuddh.”
Abhijat Bharadwaj, Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu, adds, “For a group of professionals who regularly create powerful emotional ads, we ad folk really tend to downplay our own emotions. But one look at our WhatsApp groups today tells you that Piyush Pandey’s passing has left a hole in our hearts. He was the pathfinder for Indian advertising a visionary who helped define the shape, size, and flavour of the entire industry. To this day, we still pull pages from the playbook he wrote, reinvented, and evolved.”
For Mithila Saraf, CEO at Famous Innovations, one dinner in Cannes said it all. She recalls joining Pandey and his family at his favourite Thai restaurant during Cannes Lions, where he and his brother Prasoon were being celebrated for receiving the Lion of St. Mark: “What struck me most was the warmth with which he welcomed us — even me, an outsider. Every conversation at that table was a story, every story an observation about life. What stood out was how effortlessly he told them — no performance, no intention, just instinct. That’s what made his work magical. He could turn a dinner-table anecdote into a reflection of the world. In that effortless storytelling lay the secret to why he wasn’t just India’s greatest adman, but its greatest listener.”
Ashish Bhasin, former Chairman & CEO, APAC, Dentsu, called Piyush Pandey “the very face of Indian advertising.” Reflecting on the news of his passing, Bhasin said he woke up in the US to the loss and added, “In my 38 years in advertising, I’ve seen many greats but only two true legends. He was one of them.”
He highlighted Pandey’s role in transforming the industry, saying, “Piyush brought India’s heartland into advertising at a time when the industry was largely South Bombay–influenced and shaped by English theatre. Landmark campaigns like Chal Meri Luna sparked the Indianization of advertising, a legacy that continues to strengthen the industry to this day.”
Bhasin also spoke about Pandey’s generosity and humanity. “He celebrated every Indian campaign that succeeded, regardless of the agency. Even when we displaced Ogilvy in the rankings, he sent us a cake to congratulate us, a gesture that truly reflected the bigness of the man. He was deeply sensitive too. I remember judging Dubai Lynx awards with him in Dubai, and when he received news of his mother’s illness, he immediately flew back to India. Even in such moments, his humanity shone through,” he said.
Calling Pandey’s passing a loss to the entire industry, Bhasin added, “Everyone knows him as a cricket lover, a great writer, and for his iconic moustache. But he was much more than that he was a poet, a humorist, a man whose loud guffaw and friendly pat on the back I can still hear. My heart goes out to his wife Nita, his family, and colleagues, many of whom shared decades of close association with him.”
Dr. Kushal Sanghvi, mentor at Niti Aayog, remembered Piyush Pandey as both a guiding light and a personal inspiration, “This is a loss that’s difficult to put into words a very personal one for me. I first met Piyush when I was still in college, studying advertising, marketing, and HR. He used to visit our classes, conduct case studies, and deliver lectures. We were among the first colleges in India to offer a graduation-level course in advertising, and he engaged with us across all three years. I’ve known him literally all my life.”
Sanghvi mentions that even though I never worked with him at Ogilvy, I had the chance to meet him often on panels, juries, discussions, and over coffee. He was someone you could call anytime, and he would always make time to respond. Despite being a global leader at Ogilvy, he remained profoundly human and grounded. He remembered everyone’s name from the peon to the person serving tea and treated everyone with respect. That humility spoke volumes about the kind of person he was.
“Beyond his humanity, Piyush was a creative genius. He had an extraordinary eye for tiny insights that others might overlook. Campaigns like Happy Dent, Fevicol, Asian Paints, and Cadbury were built around those subtle details. He loved his heartland, came from a small town, thought in Hindi, and infused that authenticity into his work — transforming Indian advertising by making ‘Hinglish’ mainstream,” he adds.
Sanghvi adds that his passing leaves a hollow feeling. India has lost someone from whom it could have learned so much more. He always emphasized the power of human connection in creativity, reminding us that no AI can replace the spark human beings bring to ideas. “His work from Gattu for Asian Paints to countless other unforgettable campaigns will live on in our memories forever. India may never see another creative genius like him,” he adds.
Anita Nayyar, former COO at Patanjali, said, “Like many others, I first met Piyush in my early days at O&M. It was an incredible learning ground, led by legends like Piyush and Roda Mehta. We were often mentored and even caned by them,” she adds.
She adds that at a full-service agency, every interaction with Piyush was a learning opportunity. Teams from all departments would come together to understand the brand and crack the idea. That approach gave us a broader perspective and a deeper understanding of the consumer.
Nayyar further mentions that in my four decades in the industry, I’ve never seen anyone with the pulse of the consumer the way Piyush had. That is a lesson I’ll never forget. It’s also why campaigns like Fevicol ka Jod, Cadbury – Kuch Khaas Hai, Hutch, Asian Paints, and many more remain timeless classics.
“His ability to adapt to change without losing the core of the brand was a masterclass in creativity. There will never be another Piyush Pandey,” she mentions.
“What I learned from him is know your consumer, adapt to stay relevant, but never compromise on the core will always stay with me. How I wish life were like Fevicol ka Jod strong, unbreakable and he could have been that bond,” she highlights.
