Death Of An Adman

Good Morning. It’s been an unfortunate week as we lost many legends and adman Piyush Pandey was one of them. He ruled in an era where audiences glued to TVs, looked forward to heartwarming and funny ads. But that world as we know it, might end in the information era where influencers rule.

In other news, India is moving towards a free-trade agreement with the European Union. Meanwhile, our auto exports have grown at a robust pace in the first half of the tumultuous financial year, even as US shipments took a hit due to tariffs.

THE TAKE

Does Piyush Pandey’s Passing Signify The End of Advertising As We Knew It?

By Govindraj Ethiraj

Most panel discussions I moderated over the years as a financial journalist have gone this way —- opening remarks, measured points followed by a conversation diving into the insights that emerged; and then the future. 

In one such panel many moons ago, all the panelists delivered their prepared and succinct opening remarks. The next panelist did not pick up where the others left off. 

He stood up and announced, “Can we switch off the lights please and load my videos to play?” The panelist, as you might have guessed, was ad man and the now late Piyush Pandey.

It was a captivating 15-minute presentation on the role of advertising in building a narrative.

The advertisements he played, including the Chal Meri Luna and Fevicol are all familiar; as we have seen them numerous times in both TV and print.

But what Pandey, who joined Ogilvy India in 1982 and rose to become Executive Chairman and later Global Chief Creative Officer (2019-21), did was to effectively stitch all these ad films with an overarching narrative.

Thunderous claps erupted at the end of his presentation.

Not because the ad films were very creative in their shooting and punchlines but because the audience could now see the link between the success of products like Fevicol, just a glue after all and the advertising strategy that lay behind the brand.

Chocolate Is The New Mithai

Dheeraj Sinha, Group CEO - India & South Asia, FCB and the President of The Advertising Club describes it thus, “The most interesting parts are where advertising was used to shift behaviours and build categories. Like Cadbury's, where you sold the idea of chocolates, which were completely alien to a market such as India, on the idea of mithais. It's not just creative work. It's strategy, consumer behaviour, India-understanding, category building, all brought into one.” 

I have had a few more encounters with Pandey, mostly on television discussions. More than 15 years on, most of them are a blur now. But as many of his friends and clients described in considerable eloquence in the last three days since his passing, he was a storyteller who understood and knew India and its culture.

And brought that understanding into the creation of brands.

Where Are The Piyush Pandeys?

Piyush Pandey ruled, like many advertising greats, over a world and market where messages were communicated through a twin funnel of television and print. 

A single, sharp message, built upon an intuitive understanding of a changing India could build categories, brands, products and indeed, business empires.

Many people lament, quite rightly, that we don’t see people like Piyush Pandey anymore. But we do not have the same somewhat twin pole media world that Pandey inhabited.

Media is now multi-pole, realtime and consuming us all the time, like an intravenous drip permanently affixed to our brain. To create messaging in this world or building a brand is not easy. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, advertisers still lean on traditional channels like television to do that. A closer look at the high decibel ad campaigns launching during the IPL cricket season should give you an idea. 

Advertisers And The Influencers 

The other question is whether institutional messaging is breaking down? It may not be but it surely takes more firepower and resources to hold out on a message. 

Even if traditional advertising continues to work on the big strategy-led messaging, an increasing part of the distribution is through influencers who are their own medium and message.

Though the larger question is that of the importance of advertising itself. How would one rate the chances and role of traditional advertising today in building desires and wants for products and services? And oftentimes life-long affinity.

Does the passing of Piyush Pandey and creative giants like him signify the end of institutional creativity as we knew it and thus the ability to create and nurture powerful, emotional bonds with consumers?

Maybe it does, maybe not. But his departure does come at a turning point in media and information consumption never seen before. After all, there is misinformation to reckon with too.

The next Piyush Pandey whoever he or she is has to navigate in a new technology-fuelled, information order. On a hopeful note, maybe we will see newer forms of creativity in this world that will drive both brand salience and success.

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CORE NUMBER

Rs 1.55 lakh crore

That is how much the combined marketcap of India’s top-7 listed companies jumped last week. In the week shortened by the Diwali holiday, benchmark index BSE went up by 0.3%; and hit a 52-week high on Thursday. Index heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL) and TCS gained the most during the week.

Here is how much they gained

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and HUL saw their marketcap erode during the week.

FROM THE PERIPHERY

US, Global Insurers Backed Adani Says Report

A clutch of global and US companies has been making debt investments into Adani Group, a PTI report said on Sunday. US-based Athene Investments provided $750 million financing for Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) in June. Adani Green Energy raised around $250 million from global lenders like DBS Bank, DZ Bank, Rabobank, and Bank SinoPac Co.

The Backstory: The report comes a day after Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) denied claims by a Washington Post article on its investments in the group. The article alleged that the state-owned LIC was ‘advised’ by India’s Finance Ministry to invest roughly $3.4 billion in corporate bonds issued by the Adani group, sourcing from internal documents, and other interviews.

Catch Up Quick: The article also said that the ministry advised LIC to use an additional $507 million to increase its stakes in several group subsidiaries. The article also referred to Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani group, as ‘Modi’s Mogul’ in the headline, referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Adani group too rejected the claims.

India Pushes EU Pact

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will visit Brussels this week to push forward India’s long-pending free trade agreement with the European Union. 

Implications: The discussions will focus on non-tariff barriers and market-access issues, including India’s demand for data-secure status (which would help Indian IT) and easier mobility for skilled professionals. In turn, the EU is pressing India to lower tariffs on cars, wines, and other goods. Both sides aim to conclude the pact by December 2025. Bilateral trade touched $136 billion in FY25, making the EU one of India’s largest partners. 

What This Means Going Forward: The deal is part of New Delhi’s broader push to diversify export markets and deepen supply-chain links with the West amid slowing global growth and shifting trade alignments.

Auto Exports Robust in H1FY26

Passenger vehicle exports rose 18% year on year in the April-September period, says data by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Maruti Suzuki led the segment with shipments to the tune of two lakh units.

By the Numbers: Passenger car shipments rose 12%, while utility vehicle exports rose 26%, and van shipment rose by 36.5% in the period under review.

The Shift: The growth is attributed to robust performance of Middle East and Latin American markets, and stable demand from other markets. While shipments to US fell in September, Indian exporters saw positive growth in 24 countries which include Korea, UAE, Brazil, Italy and Tanzania.

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