On 1 October 2024, London International Awards (LIA) honoured Piyush Pandey with the LIA Legend Award, as he was the man who put Indian advertising on the map, advertising’s great master and most humble student. Today, we remember and honour his name and legacy.

“Write little stories so that people like Barbara (Levy) can put them together, and say, no, it’s not stories, it’s one legend.”

Those were the words spoken by Piyush Pandey,  the legend himself, to a crowd of young and top creatives when LIA had the privilege to honour him with the their 2024 Legend award. 

He loved talking to people. That was his super power. That is not to downplay his creative brilliance, his humour or his sense of compassion and humanity. I’ll never forget time spent with him, decades ago, at the Majestic Hotel in Cannes. I was surprised he knew who I was when with his customary joie de vivre he waved me over and invited me to join him at his table where he was sitting with his friends and colleagues.  

Piyush Pandey was far more than a LIA Legend. He was an icon who gave Indian advertising an audible speaking voice to a billion people. He was as at home being with top clients as he was with the barber who cut his hair. A down-to-earth man whose only hint of flamboyance was his lush Rajasthan handle bar moustache and his glorious, infectious laughter that seemed to well up from deep within his soul.

While his work firmly defined Indian advertising, during one of our conversations when I asked Piyush the secret to his enduring advertising success, his answer was simply: “Talk to people. Hear their stories. It might trigger an idea.”

But the true measure of a great man is more than just his work. Or the more than 600 awards on his shelves.  Piyush’s enduring legacy in this industry are the lives he had touched, influenced, and moulded. Someone fortunate enough to have worked with him once remarked: “Piyush taught me to trust my judgement, to stand up for my beliefs. He taught me fearlessness.”

Where did Piyush Pandey learn his mentoring style? He confided that it was from his beloved mother, who had always taught him with love and respect. And he lived what he had learned.  I’ve never heard him talk down to anyone. Even when he disagreed with a point of view, Piyush would always ask: “Have you thought about it from this angle?” He brought to the forefront the best of advertising – courage, honesty, spontaneity, humour, the joy of originality and public service.

Mine is just one of many stories that people have about Piyush Pandey. He may be gone but we don’t close the chapter. His legacy lives on. The story of this master storyteller will continue to be told long after this. Piyush was a rock star in the largest sense. We are grateful and honoured to have known him.

- Barbara Levy, president, LIA and her team