The ad legend who made brands immortal

NT Bureau, Agencies

New Delhi: The Indian advertising industry lost its most celebrated voice on Thursday as Piyush Pandey, the creative genius who transformed how brands communicated with the nation, died at 70. For over four decades, the Jaipur born storyteller reshaped advertising, turning commer cials into cultural phenomena and making brands like Fevicol , Cadbury, and Asian Paints inseparable from Indian consciousness.

When Piyush Pandey joined Ogilvy in 1982 at age 27, Indian advertising was dominated by Westernised sensibilities, polished English, and foreign aesthetics. What he brought instead was the color, chaos, and character of real India. Campaigns that spoke like everyday conversations rather than corporate marketing.

Born in Jaipur in 1955 to a government bank employee and a homemaker, Pandey grew up as one of nine siblings in a creative household that included filmmaker Prasoon Pandey and singer Ila Arun. After studying at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, and playing cricket at the Ranji Trophy level, he explored various professions before finding his calling in adver tising at age 27. He often said that brands are built with magic and not just logic. This philosophy became the corner stone of his creative approach.