piyush pandey: Piyush Pandey almost said no to PM Modi’s election campaign. Here’s why he changed his mind
Piyush Pandey has been regarded as one of the most influential names in the advertising world and has been celebrated for creating some of India’s iconic advertising campaigns. The slogan “Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar”, created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his 2014 election campaign, has also become a widely recognized political slogan. This helped the BJP achieve a comfortable win in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
And surprisingly, not many know that President Donald Trump’s 2016 Hindi campaign slogan “Ab ki baar Trump Sarkar” was also borrowed from the same slogan. Piyush Pandey, one of the pioneers of the Indian advertising industry, was the man behind the BJP campaign created by ad agency Soho Square, part of Ogilvy.
ALSO READ: Who was Piyush Pandey? The voice of the Indian advertiser who chanted the slogan ‘Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar’
When Piyush Pandey met Modi
According to CNBC, Piyush Pandey first met Narendra Modi to work on a tourism campaign when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. Speaking to CNBC, Pandey said, “I knew this man a lot before he became the prime minister and he is a very knowledgeable man, he never used paper.”
Piyush Pandey was given 20 minutes to travel to seven destinations in Gujarat along with PM Modi. “But after 45 to 50 minutes he was still walking me to the first destination,” Pandey recalled. “He knew this place inside and out.”
Their discussions lasted 5-6 hours. “Modi sometimes admitted: ‘You’re right. I talk too much, but you have to fit it into a 60-second ad.’ Pandey told him, ‘Keep talking; “I said, ‘You’re paying me to uncover important pieces of information,'” he said.
ALSO READ: Padma Shri recipient Piyush Pandey, who revolutionized Indian advertising, passes away at 70
Why did Piyush Pandey say yes to BJP’s campaign slogan?
In 2014, when Narendra Modi approached Pandey to work on his prime ministerial campaign, he was unsure. “We never worked for a political party and we made it clear that we didn’t. And then we did.” The change of heart came because of their previous relationship. “I met the man, I said, someone who knows what he wants. And someone who is willing to listen… I didn’t have a chance to say no.”
When asked about his adoption of Trump’s slogan, Pandey gave a measured response. “You feel good because he’s traveling,” he told CNBC. Reflecting Trump’s “America First” approach, Pandey called it “brilliant” but acknowledged its challenges. “All of his actions are consistent with that and even today it raises some issues in a global context, but he continues to pursue it,” he said.
ALSO READ: Piyush Pandey passes away: PM Modi pays heartfelt tribute to the man behind the slogan ‘Ab Ki Baar, Modi Sarkar’
Who was Piyush Pandey?
Piyush Pandey was an eminent and renowned advertising professional. He served as Ogilvy’s Chief Creative Officer Worldwide (2019) and Chief Executive Officer, India. He received the LIA Legend Award in 2024 and the Padma Shri in 2016. The Sunlight Detergent print ad was the first ad he wrote.
Pandey’s iconic work covers a wide range of campaigns. His memorable commercial works include Polio awareness campaign with Amitabh Bachchan, Fevikwik’s ‘Todo Nahin, Jodo’, Ponds’ Googly Woogly Woosh, Vodafone’s ZooZoo campaigns and Gujarat Tourism campaigns, anti-smoking initiatives for Cancer Patients’ Association, among others.
