Introduced in 2023, the LIA Legend Award in its second edition has found its recipient in Indian ad industry’s ‘Big Daddy’, i.e- Ogilvy’s Piyush Pandey, who began his long-term partnership with the creative agency in 1982 and currently serves the role of Chief Advisor at Ogilvy.
Wholly owned and operated by women, London International Awards was started by Barbara Levy, Founder and President, LIA, in 1986 as one of the first multi-disciplinary, truly international awards shows in the advertising industry.
Ever since, the coveted gala has grown into one of the top five international Creative Awards Festivals in the world. However, it was only last year that the LIA introduced a new category- LIA Legend Award to recognise a leader of the industry, who in the past or currently, has demonstrated his/her willingness to share, mentor and develop others with a focus on the advancement of the industry and creative thinking in all sector through his/her talent, vision and generosity alongside demonstrating outstanding creativity at all levels.
“We are not just awarding for brilliance, although that is a factor. We are not just awarding for creative leadership, although that is also a factor. We are awarding above those two achievements, a person who has been selfless and humble in developing others and giving their time to advance the industry and talent within it,” mentioned LIA in a press note.
Being conferred with the LIA Legend Award this year, Ogilvy’s Pandey has been named “the most influential man in Indian advertising” by one of India’s leading publications for 14 consecutive years and has managed to speak to the masses of people in the country in a language that everybody can understand.
“If someone puts you on a creative path, you can create magic,” these were the words spoken to Pandey by his teacher in school, but what is this ‘magic’ that he has?
“He has the extraordinary ability to take the ordinary and weave it into something that touches all as he doesn’t live in an ivory tower of theory and data; but sees and listens to everyday things. He can talk to every person in a way that is human and move them to act. That is what makes him a simple yet powerful storyteller,” the agency mentioned.
Before beginning his long association with Ogilvy in 1982 and serving the role of Executive Chairman of Ogilvy India since 2004 and later as Global Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy for two and a half years, Pandey lived a different life– from playing cricket for his home state of Rajasthan for 27 years to tea tasting and construction.
As of now, Pandey is credited with putting Indian advertising on the world map with over 600 national and international awards to his name whilst being the first Asian to chair the Cannes jury in 2004.
In 2010, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Advertising Agencies Association of India, followed by The Lifetime Achievement Award by Clio in 2012 and the Indian National Civilian Award (Padma Shri) in 2016 by the President of India.
Pandey, along with his brother, was also awarded the Lion of St. Mark at the International Festival of Creativity at Cannes in 2018.
Being a strong believer of how people in advertising can use their creativity to drive social change and creating several impactful social campaigns – including his work for UNICEF and the Government of India to make India polio-free, Pandey has also been a mentor at The Berlin School of Creative Leadership for several years.
Additionally, he also believes strongly that learnings of a lifetime should be shared with the next generation, as a consideration and not as a prescription and the same reflects in his two books – ‘Pandeymonium’ and ‘Open House’.
In his inimitable way, Pandey has summed up the purpose of advertising as ‘Saying it with respect, spontaneity, without fear in a context that the audience can understand. It is never to intimidate or frighten. But to delight.’
