On October 24, 2025, India lost its greatest advertiser. Piyush Pandey, 70, the man behind the Fevicol, Cadbury, and Asian Paints campaigns that defined generations.
For 40 years at Ogilvy India, Pandey did something revolutionary: he refused to copy the West. He drew from the streets of Mumbai, the chai-stalls, everyday conversations. He transformed Indian advertising by giving it its own voice, its own accent, its own heart.
To those of us who prompt more than we observe, Pandey leaves three essential lessons:
- Cultural authenticity cannot be manufactured Pandey used to say that the best ideas come ‘from the street, from life, by listening’. ChatGPT can analyze a million tweets. But only your human eye can grasp the gaze of a father who buys the first chocolate for his daughter. AI processes data. You, you capture truths.
- Emotion before optimization His campaigns did not seek the best click-through rate. They aimed at the heart. They became cultural touchstones, hummed in households. AI can optimize 100 title variants. But it cannot decide which one will make people cry with joy.
- Simplicity requires courage Pandey integrated humor, warmth, and local idioms into his campaigns. Nothing technically sophisticated. Everything deeply human. In an age where AI lets us do everything, the challenge is no longer “What can I create?” but “What should I create?”
Padma Shri awardee, the first Asian president of the Cannes jury, Pandey reminds us of this:
AI is an extraordinary tool. But it remains a tool. Cultural judgment, empathy, observation of reality, the courage of simplicity — that is you.
Use the machine to go faster. But never forget to go deeper.
RIP Piyush Pandey. You showed us that the most powerful advertising does not come from ivory towers, but from the hearts of people.
To learn about his career: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piyush_Pandey
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