Indian Industry Plus A Pratisrutiplus Suppliment
The hidden message of Cadburry’s “Kuch Khaas Hai Hum Sabhi Mein” advertisement was: Chocolates were not just for kids but for everyone who celebrates life. This ad was successful by attracting customers from different segments other than kids.
Mr. Piyush Pandey, the former Executive Chairman and Creative Director of Ogilvy India, also known as one of the greatest legends of advertising in India is no more as he passed away in last October 2025 in Mumbai. He will be remembered by Indian audience for his memorable work for writing advertising slogans and for creating many popular advertisements for leading brands during last four decades. He was a master in positioning a brand in a competitive land scape and communicating the underlying message to the target audience. He has written popular advertisement messages for famous brands like Cadburry, Fevicol, Asian Paints and many more including social and political slogans. His creative works had earned huge impact in consumers perception creating tremendous impact in brand adoption. The tagline and the idea behind every advertisement he worked upon, was unique enough to create a sustainable impact in the mind of people. He was able to create mind share for brands which ultimately converted to market share of the company. Few of his creations are mentioned below.
The inherent strength of Fevicol in joining broken parts of a material is highlighted in the tagline, “Fevicol ka mazboot jod hai, tootega nehi”, which means ‘It’s a strong Fevicol bond, it will not break’. In its subsequent ads like Fevicol Bus, the Egg ad and the Sofa ad, the reliability in bonding between Fevicol and the broken parts is highlighted. Fevikwik, another brand extension of Fevicol, highlighted the quickness of joining the broken net of a fisherman by saying “Todo nehi, Jodo”, which means ‘Don’t break, join’. Above advertisements were well accepted by prospects as well as existing customers because of memorable taglines in vernacular language enabling easy access in the minds of customers.
Another memorable creation was Cadburry’s “Kuch Khaas Hai Hum Sabhi Mein” where a young girl entered dancing into cricket ground in front of all spectators with complete joy, happiness, freedom and emotion. The hidden message was “Chocolates were not just for kids but for everyone who celebrates life”. This ad was successful by attracting customers from different segments other than kids.
“Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai” tagline of Asian Paint speaks about an emotion of a person staying in his home. The theme that paints is not just colour on walls but a story of people living inside. It is very emotional and heart-touching as it describes product’s personality beyond its physical characteristics. Each home tells love, struggle and hope. The ad connected the paint with the emotion of the houseowner causing a dramatic change in market share.
“Do Boond Zindegi Ke”- the Polio Campaign was a public service health campaign spearheaded by UNICEF and Government of India and delivered by iconic brand ambassador and Bollywood superstar Amitav Bachchan. The slogan was very sensitive saying two drops of life to eliminate the Polio disease. Powerful communication by volunteers, health workers and door to door effort was made to reach every child.
Another creative ad jingle made by Mr Piyush Pandey was “Mile Sur Mera Tumara” which united the entire country with inclusivity among people without barring diversities like region, language, culture and habits. The faces, voices and the music in this ad jingle created emotion among people of India with strong nationality.
“Abki Baar Modi Sarkar”- four simple words were turned into the most successful political slogan (for BJP party in 2014) in the modern India. It became a chant in various parts of the country and changed a political party into a modern brand and its brand ambassador Mr Narendra Modi into a power brand. It became a household slogan which speaks more than its meaning.
He has transformed Ogilvy India into one of the world’s most creative and awarded agencies. He had revolutionised Indian advertising by mixing cultural insights with emotional storytelling for reputed brands as described above. Mr Pandey became the first Indian advertising professional to receive Padma Shri in 2016 for his contribution to the advertising world. He was also awarded with the Padma Bhushan posthumously for his lifetime contribution to the advertising world. This is a humble tribute to Sri Pandey for his contribution to the advertisement landscape of India.
