A tribute to Mr. Piyush Pandey: A good ad can change the world

Mr. Piyush Pandey’s sad demise makes me want to say something: Good advertising has the power to change the world.

Contrary to the popular belief, advertising is not just a commercial exercise which brings the company more sales. That’s basic and obvious. What a well meaning, conscientious ad campaign can be is something far greater and consequential. It can be “culture defining”. Even transformative.

A good ad is where art meets commerce, and in the most direct, cut-throat, and sometimes beautiful ways. A good ad is cinema, but with a call to action which is a step beyond a round of applause, or a silent teardrop rolling down the cheek. A good ad is that poem or a joke, which can send someone in a deep reflection about life and world at large, and then somehow also make them buy a Toothpaste. A good ad is something that can change people’s minds, and sometimes in less than 15 seconds.

Sounds clichéd, but a good ad can indeed change the world.

Now a lot of people might think of the above as an exaggeration. But is it, really? When you look at a campaign like “Do Boond Zindagi Ki”, can you honestly say that it didn’t make an impact?

And an ad doesn’t even have to be socially inclined to be transformative or culture defining. It could be a simple and sweet “You and I in this beautiful world”, which makes people look at celebrating life with a dog in a new way. Or something funny like “Petrol Khatam Hi Nai Hounda”, that unites a billion people on the shared value of frugality. Or even a quirky “HARI Sadhu”, that makes everyone reflect whether they have (or are) assholes at work.

“Men will be men”, “Har ghar kuch kehta hai”, “Jalebi” and so on..

Selling a product is only the beginning of great advertising. And thanks to people like Mr. Pandey, we know that. As he said, “somewhere, you have to touch hearts”.

This is also why I feel sad when Nithin Kamath Sir says he “won’t advertise”. While advertising has a bad reputation, it doesn’t have to be that way. In my view, Zerodha has the resources (and intent) to lead with beautiful advertising, that doesn’t only make it grow like never before, but also affect India while at it. Well meaning, conscious messaging delivered well is a great opportunity, and by willfully denouncing it, I think Team Zerodha is leaving millions of people who could otherwise be introduced to its beauty and benefit from it.

Here’s a thought. Why think of ads from a mechanical point of view? Why not hear Mr. Pandey’s message and just “touch hearts”. How can that be a bad idea?

I sincerely feel Team Zerodha has earned unparalleled goodwill, the kind of which no one can claim to have. Wouldn’t it be beautiful to see the brothers use it as a lever to uplift not just Brand Zerodha, but brand India as well?

There’s no reason why more people shouldn’t know about Zerodha’s story. It’s beautiful and deserves to be told. As Mr. Pandey has shown, there’s a lot of great work that can be done here. Someone needs to carry the torch.

Mr. Piyush Pandey, a legend in Indian advertising.

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