Piyush Pandey was a famous Indian advertising expert and a creative giant. He worked as the Chief Creative Officer and Executive Chairman of the Ogilvy agency. He received the Padma Shri award in 2016 and the LIA Legend Award in 2024.
Birth: Piyush Pandey was born in Jaipur. His exact birth details are not publicly available.
Profession: Advertising Professional. He was the Chief Creative Officer Worldwide (2019) and the Executive Chairman of Ogilvy India.
Education:
- Ph.D. in Economic Studies, University of Delhi (August 2013 – April 2018)
- Masters in Finance & Control (MFC), Department of Financial Studies, University of Delhi (2009-11)
- B.Tech in Computer Engineering, IP University, Delhi (2004-08)
Awards: He received the Padma Shri in 2016 and the LIA Legend Award in 2024.
Death: He passed away on October 24 in Mumbai after an illness at the age of seventy.
Piyush Pandey was a giant in the advertising field and he died at 70 years of age. He created many iconic advertisements for brands like Cadbury, Fevicol, and Asian Paints, bringing revolutionary changes to the Indian advertising industry.
Piyush Pandey started his journey at Ogilvy in 1982 as a trainee. Some of his famous advertisements include:
- For Pulse Polio: ‘Do Boond Zindagi Ke’ (Two Drops of Life)
- For Cadbury: ‘Pappu Pass Ho Gaya’ (Pappu Passed)
- For Asian Paints: ‘Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai’ (Every Home Says Something)
He was born into a middle-class family and had seven sisters. Piyush Pandey was very fond of cricket and also played in the Ranji Trophy.
His wife’s name is Seema Pandey.
During his 40-year career at Ogilvy & Mather, he helped build it into India’s largest advertising agency. Ogilvy India is considered one of the most creative offices in the worldwide Ogilvy network. In September 2006, Pandey was nominated to the Ogilvy Worldwide Board. He also mentored creative executives worldwide at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership.
Advertising Campaigns and Contributions:
- ‘Abki Baar Modi Sarkar’ – BJP’s 2014 election campaign, famous for the slogan “Acche Din Aane Wale Hain” (Good Days Are Coming).
- Polio campaign with Amitabh Bachchan.
- Campaigns for the Indian tourism sector.
- Anti-smoking campaign for the Cancer Patients Association.
- Fortune Oil.
- Gujarat tourism campaigns.
- ‘Googly Woogly Ush’ – Ponds ad.
- Vodafone ad campaigns.
- Fevicol advertisement.
- The Hindu newspaper.
He created many such memorable advertisements. He led and managed the corporate news coverage for The Hindu as an editor and ran the newspaper’s corporate news coverage.
He began his career in business journalism with the Business Standard in Ahmedabad. There, he was a key part of the team that launched “Accent Gujarat,” a supplement for local business news. Accent Gujarat was an instant success, forcing rival business magazines to launch similar products to stop losing readers.
Condolences and Early Career:
Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the leader of YSRCP and former Chief Minister, expressed his shock. He said Piyush Pandey’s creative advertisements had a way of connecting with the entire country. He expressed his deep condolences to the Pandey family and friends, calling the loss a sad event. He also mentioned that Pandey’s early work for Sakshi and Bharati Cements would never be forgotten.
After joining Ogilvy India in 1982, he first worked in the client servicing department. For UBS clients, he worked on the fixed income structuring desk, designing trade ideas and innovative credit-related products. He also worked as an Equity Research Associate in the UBS Indian Banking Sector team, covering Indian banking stocks and publishing cyclical research reports.