Ad-man Piyush Pandey tribute: Cricket missed out on an aggressive batsman at No.6, says ex-Test opener Arun Lal

Piyush Pandey, the advertising legend who passed away at age 70, is celebrated by his peers, Ramachandra Guha describing him as the “MS Dhoni of Indian advertising” for how he brought vernacular Hindi and everyday Indian sensibility into a field dominated by English-speaking elites, and former cricketer Arun Lal recalling the early mornings and cheeky humour from their college cricket days together. Pandey, who once played for St Stephen’s College in Delhi and even in the Ranji Trophy for Rajasthan cricket team, applied the same disciplined yet witty spirit to his work, crafting iconic campaigns like the ‘Dr Fixit’ waterproofing ad and the famous Cadbury “kuch khaas hai” spot, while insisting that “you are selling nothing if you don’t touch hearts.” He immersed himself in the vernacular, visiting vegetable markets and listening to conversations, and turned that into powerful messaging that connected with ordinary Indians. Guha draws the comparison to Dhoni not just because Pandey excelled under pressure and delivered for his team, but because he came from a middle-class background, mastered the “mass idiom” in Hindi, and transformed the culture of his profession.
*This news was published by The Indian Express on October 25, 2025.*

 

 

Source Click