Piyush Pandey dies at 70: 7 iconic ads by the Adman that shaped Indian advertising

The Adman has breathed his last — Piyush Pandey, the creative visionary who shaped Indian advertising, died on October 24. He was 70.

With more than four decades of trail-blazing work at Ogilvy & Mather India, Pandey didn’t merely craft commercials — he shaped cultural moments, gave vernacular voice to big-ticket brands, and made “desi” speak global. Over the years, Pandey shaped how brands spoke to millions of Indians — moving away from mere product features to people-centric emotional stories rooted in everyday life. From the memorable “bus stuck” moments for Fevicol to the joyous celebrations for Cadbury Dairy Milk, and landmark political slogans that not only worked wonders — but also changed the marketing playbook — his campaigns are still etched into the cultural memory.

The Adman — with his trademark mustache, booming laugh, and deep understanding of the pulse of the Indian consumer — transformed mere campaigns into taglines that became part of the country’s everyday life.

As the advertising world mourns the loss of such an inspiring and towering figure, let’s take a look back at the legacy Pandey left behind — his most iconic ads over the years.

No other Cadbury Dairy Milk ad to date has sounded as sweet and been as remarkable as this one! One of the earliest game-changers in the Indian advertising circuit was the 1993 Cadbury ad campaign, made by Piyush Pandey. The Adman helped reposition the chocolate from being just a kids’ snack into a treat for all ages. The visuals of a young woman dancing in joy as others looked on, and the tagline “Kuch Khaas Hai Hum Sabhi Mein” became ingrained in popular culture. The campaign presented Pandey’s strength, as well as his understanding of everything delicate — human emotions, their simplicity, and resonance. Cadbury Dairy Milk cemented its space in India’s heart forever with this campaign.

What do we imagine when we think of painting our home? How do we “see” our home? Surely, with imprints that reflect who we are! In the mid-2000s, Pandey and his team turned that vision into reality, crafting the campaign “Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai” for Asian Paints. The idea: every home has a story, every wall a memory. With emotionally nuanced storytelling and resonance that echoed with everyone who aspired to turn their space into a home, this campaign made paint more than color — it made it their identity.

Perhaps no campaign demonstrates his genius better than the Fevicol bus ad — it’s as cerebral as it’s quirky. Picture this (in case you missed the ad): a crowded bus travels through desert sands, and each passenger is “stuck together” using Fevicol glue. The humor, the visual metaphor, the execution, garnished with the colloquial language — all of it stitched into one, making it an iconic piece. It’s like an Indian fabric — presented in one place. The idea that ideally should drive such a diverse country like India — unity among diversity — seeped into the common people’s minds through this ad. And the effect was quite visible — taglines like "Todo Nahi, Jodo" entered everyday speech. This campaign, made by Pandey, built more than a brand — it built a cultural moment.

Remember the cutest and quirkiest ZooZoos? Under Pandey’s creative leadership, Vodafone’s quirky “ZooZoo” characters became an advertising phenomenon in India. Though umbrella-style, these playful, silent figures appealed across age groups and media channels, helping change how telecom brands communicated humor and simplicity, stay relatable, and hence connected to the common users. Pandey’s influence helped create a distinct tone for telecom advertising.

Fevicol wasn’t the only brand that stuck with Pandey’s mastery and kept up with his vision. The Adman delivered yet another masterpiece with another adhesive product — Fevikwik. With Fevikwik, the narrative wasn’t just about fixing something or putting some pieces together — but it was more about the bond that holds and sustains. For Fevikwik, the micro-moment ad with a fish spoke to the core idea of the brand — even the smallest efforts go a long way. This ad also showed rural ingenuity (read: “Jugaad”) besting city slickness and how! Talk about championing the grassroots through smart storytelling.

Not all ad campaigns are made to sell products — some are made simply to root for social causes that matter. Pandey understood that well, and his body of work speaks for the same. His campaign for the Cancer Patients Aid Association and other public-health initiatives showed his commitment to social narratives. The best instance? His work on polio vaccination with Amitabh Bachchan — with the iconic tagline “Do Boond Zindagi Ke” — carried huge emotional weight and generated real-world impact. In fact, Pandey’s polio campaign has been cited as a benchmark for cause-advertising for aspirants.

Pandey’s impact went beyond commercial brands and social causes. Venturing into political communication, Pandey penned the now-iconic slogan “Abki Baar Modi Sarkar”, aligning campaign messaging with narrative simplicity and mass recall. This slogan, for Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2014 general elections, became one of the most-talked-about political messages in India. It showed the power of advertising language to influence more than just buying decisions — it could shape narratives.