When you enjoy your job, you don’t count the years: Piyush Pandey

From a trainee account executive to the Chief Creative Officer Worldwide and Executive Chairman India of Ogilvy, Piyush Pandey’s four-decade-long journey with Ogilvy is truly inspiring, not only for young admakers but for everyone who dreams of making big through his/her skills, grit and determination. 

The man behind the iconic campaigns of Cadbury, Fevicol and polio, Pandey redefined Indian advertising by changing its colonial flavour to Indianness, using powerful Hindi language in the ad campaigns that appealed to the masses. Under Pandey’s leadership, Ogilvy grew exponentially and won hundreds of awards for its powerful and catchy ads.

e4m caught up with the legend when he completed 40 years at the agency in August 2022. Here are excerpts from the conversation. 

You recently completed 40 years with Ogilvy, which must be a world record in advertising. You are still in full swing and delivering wonderful campaigns as ever. What keeps you going on and on? 

If someone stays in a job for a long time, that means they are passionate about their work. They (employers) keep you in the job because you are excellent and able to deliver. So, it is the combination of both. When you enjoy your job, you don't even count the years. 

I still remember the first 40 days of my job at Ogilvy, forget about 40 years. When you are playing in a match, you don't play for a score, you just enjoy the batting. 

You might have received many job offers in these years. But your “Fevicol ka mazboot jod" with Ogilvy is truly remarkable. Was there any day in your career when you felt like you were done? How did you get out of that phase? Any advice to youngsters who are tempted to switch jobs anytime that feeling occurs?

If you enjoy your work, then you don’t feel like changing jobs. Some people receive job offers in terms of money. Money anyway gets equalized in two-three years. So, look for another job if you are able to actualise yourself better in that job. Don't be fooled by the money, if the work is not good. 

In the early nineties, somebody offered me a job and said that my name would be included in the company’s board. I told him, “When you landed in India and drove from the airport to the Taj Hotel to meet me, you might have seen many boards.  My name is written all over, so I am not concerned about my name. My work is my name, not the vice versa.

Many people look up to you and want to understand your process of creativity. What do you usually tell these people?

First think of the audience. If you are not able to move your audience, then your idea is not good. Client is secondary. If you think that your idea can move your audience and the product is able to deliver, then you can utilize it anyway. Family, neighbourhood, city and the nation should be your starting point. Impressing a client means nothing, unless your idea impresses the audiences as well. If you are able to impress your client but not the audience, the client would never hire you. 

Don’t think about things that you love. You can make paintings about it and keep it in your house. You have to think about what others would love. We are in the business of communications. We are not pure artists, but commercial artists. 

From radio and newspaper ads to television and then to 30-20-10 second digital ads. How has creativity, and you as a creative leader, evolved over the last four decades? 

Go back to the audience and find out what they are watching or reading or from where they are getting their message. The 10-second nonsense is completely a myth. It is not the number of seconds, you have to measure the impact. If you can move your audience with a 50-second video, then you don't need to run 10-seconders 20 times a day. By the way, which 10-seconder do you remember? 

People won’t remember your brand just because your ad is running day and night. You have to catch your audience wherever they are. Catch them at the cricket match or cinema, under a tree or wherever they are. If you know their preferences, and have an idea to communicate, then you have to keep your mind open to technology. 

Admakers often struggle with the deadlines. How did you deal with the deadline pressure at the beginning of your career and how do you deal with it now? 

Rakshabandhan comes every year around the same time. Other festivals also come as per their schedule. Barring a few sudden developments, most of the occasions have fixed dates. You should start preparing accordingly. 

Instead of delaying or seeking extension of the deadline for the festival campaigns, you should start working earlier to meet client’s objectives effectively. 

I don’t think that any client gets the kick to see you working two nights in a row. Working round the clock doesn’t mean good work. Clients need to be explained, “My eyes might be open at night, but my mind would be closed. If I work in a relaxed mind, I would get the idea fast.”

You have to deal with the deadlines. 

What are your own five best picks? We would also like to know the core idea behind both the versions of the iconic Cadbury ad- kuchh khaas hai zindagi me.

The first version was very simple -we wanted adults to eat chocolates. Adults were not eating chocolate in the public then as it was considered a children’s product. The fact was that they loved eating chocolates. The idea was to get adults to eat chocolate, without losing children who were enjoying it anyway. We thought there was a child in each one of us. Many of us like to soak in the rain but never experience it because we think what our neighbours would think of us. 

The campaign highlighted that if you love something, go for it. My young team wanted to recreate it last year. We decided not to touch the music, which was the everlasting one. 

In the first ad, the protagonist was a performer, not a cricketer. We had Shimona then. In the second, we had a street boy as the protagonist. If you tweak the original version and bring something new, then it is recreating not remaking. I loved the young team’s work which did the magic all over again. 

In such a long career, it is very difficult to pick the best five. It is unfair to compare the ads which were made in different time periods. I love the ‘chal meri luna’ campaign that was made in the eighties, and the Cadbury campaigns that came much later. Asian Paints, Pidilite and so many. Never compare Don Bradman with Sachin Tendulkar. 

Which ad campaigns created by others do you admire the most? If you can name some campaigns.

There are many such campaigns. Our competitors are doing fabulous work. Some of them worked with me as well. I loved Dentsu's campaign for the British Museum, it is a fantastic piece of work. ‘Hamara Bajaj’ and ‘Daag Achhe Hain’ campaigns are also amazing. 

India completes 75 years of Independence. Ogilvy has done many campaigns for the nation. Which one is the closest to your heart? 

‘Mile sur mera tumhara’ is clearly the best national campaign so far. Created by Sudesh Malik 35 years ago, that music is still alive. Show me any piece of work that lasted for 35 years. I was part of that campaign. I also loved the polio campaign which we did with Amitabh Bachchan. India was declared polio-free in 2014. It was such a great moment for all of us. Indian literacy mission, ‘Purab se surya uga’ campaign, was also very powerful. It's a lifetime opportunity to serve your nation. 

You created successful campaigns for the BJP in 2014 elections. Did you have any apprehensions while doing it? And would you make campaigns for other political parties as well, if they come to you? 

We had not worked on political campaigns when the BJP approached us. We didn't know much about their functioning. Then we realized they are also human beings. BJP has been a very good client. 

They knew what they wanted, they were very precise in their thoughts, very professional in receiving the ideas, were open to criticism and motivated to give it a better shot. We wondered whether it would be a rough ride for us and whether they would pay on time. We campaigned for them in the 2019 elections as well. 

We are working for the BJP from time to time, so there is no need to work with others. It is the same way- when you do the Cadbury ad, you don’t do for other chocolate brands. 

Also, on September 26 this year, when Devika Bulchandani, Global CEO of Ogilvy, shared the news that Pandey will now move into an advisory role, the stalwart had shared his thoughts with e4m.  Here are excerpts of that conversation:

Piyush Pandey as a 'chief advisor' and Piyush Pandey as a 'creative head'-what will be the major difference between the two roles?

Pandey: Not very much, because I’ve never been in a position of authority by definition. I was an advisor to my CCO anyway. I never told others to do the work this way. Now in my new role, I will do the same thing. I will caution them, mentor them and sometimes play along with them when required. So, nothing changes. The changes are for people who define their own ways of working. I have worked with people for many many years. So, I have no worries and they have no worries.

Everyone is talking about Generative AI. What is your take on AI and how do you think it is going to impact the creative industry?

There’s one thing called artificial intelligence and another thing called real intelligence. Real intelligence lies with you. Artificial Intelligence needs to be faster, moving ahead into generating things. But it can’t do anything without real intelligence.

Piyush, you often say you have two passions-cricket and advertising. Both are interlinked in many ways. Indian media companies have committed Rs 80,000 crore to acquire rights to telecast-stream different forms of cricket in the next five years. It appears that there would be too much cricket and too much advertising in the coming days to recover the media rights cost. How sustainable is this model? 

Pandey: I think cricket will go on as India loves it. Advertising is a little suspect because of the kind of advertising they're doing these days with celebrities. In the IPL, there were three celebrities in an ad but if I ask you about the brand, you won’t remember the name. I am seriously concerned about it.

As an advisor, will you still be a driving force behind BJP’s 2024 election campaign?

Pandey (laughs):That BJP has to decide, I can’t decide. If they call me, I will definitely drive their 2024 campaign. I have done the last two elections for them. So, it’s their choice. I can’t go and say I want a hatrick.

Meanwhile, talking to e4m after the Cannes Lions this year, Pandey shared a very meaningful message for the professionals in the advertising industry-- Don’t worry about the metals, keep doing the great work

“Many measures determine the creative reputation of a country. I personally believe that India’s performance is extremely healthy despite the fact that it didn’t match last year’s numbers,” said Piyush Pandey, Chief Creative Officer Worldwide and Executive Chairman of India of Ogilvy, while sharing his thoughts on Indian adland’s performance at the festival of creativity this year.

According to Pandey, the number of metals will follow but the work should keep getting better and better.

“We have seen many agencies this year join the frames of Cannes Lions but above all the Indian advertising industry has grown by leaps and bounds,” he noted.

“I have met many people in Cannes and from what I gather by their tone and the way they speak about us, India has undoubtedly come a long way from where it was 25 years ago.

“My message to the industry is - don’t worry about the numbers, keep doing great work and the awards will follow.”