Piyush Pandey

Early life and education

Pandey was born in Jaipur in 1955 and played for the Ranji Trophy. He worked as a tea taster. Pandey studied at St. Xavier's School, Jaipur and has an MA from St Stephen's College, Delhi. He is a Post Graduate in History from the University of Delhi. He is the brother of famous singer Ila Arun and Prasoon Pandey, an equally famous Indian advertising personality.

Career

Pandey joined McAleer and Keenor's company in 1982, and in 1989 he moved to the creative department at O&M. Three years later he was promoted to creative director, and then to national creative director. Pandey was nominated to the board of directors in 1995, and in 2004 was appoint as an executivehairman for Ogilvy India and South Asia. He later became vice-chairman of Ogilvy Asia-Pacific.

During his tenure Ogilvy & Mather became the third-largest advertising agency in India, and Ogilvy India is considered one of the most creative offices in the Ogilvy network. In September 2006, Pandey was nominated to the Ogilvy worldwide oard. He mentors creative executives from around the world at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership.

Advertising campaigns and contributions

Notable ad campaigns in India designed by Pandey include:

Notable contributions are writing the Indian patriotic song "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" for the National Literacy Mission Programme in 1988 and co-writing the screenplay for Bhopal Express.

Acting

Pandey appeared in the John Abraham and Nargis Fakhri film Madras Cafe as a cabinet secretary and in Magic Pencil Project videos (a marketing campaign by ICICI Bank).

Awards and achievements

Pandey has won a number of awards. He was named the most influential man in Indian advertising for eight consecutive years by The Economic Times. In 2000, the Ad Club of Mumbai voted his commercial for Fevikwik the commercial of the century and his work for Cadbury the campaign of the century. Pandey was voted Asia's Creative Person of the Year at the Media Asia Awards 2002. He is the only Indian to win a double gold at Cannes (for his Cancer Patients Association anti-smoking campaign) and a triple grand prize at the London International Awards. During Pandey's tenure, O&M India won 25 lions at Cannes. In 2002, he won India's first Silver Pencil at The One Show Awards. Pandey received a lifetime achievement award in 2010 from the Advertising Agencies Association of India. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2016.

He was invited to be a jury member on the 2000 Clio Awards, at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and was the first Asian jury president for outdoor and press and film at the 2004 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He was invited to judge the 2007 Asia Pacific Advertising Festival Awards.