How Piyush Pandey gave India its most famous political slogan, ‘Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar’

“Fevicol ka jod toot gaya. The ad world lost its glue today. Go well Piyush Pandey.”

Tributes poured in quick as the news broke that India’s advertising legend, Piyush Pandey, passed away. Politicians, filmmakers, and anyone and everyone mourned the demise of 70-year-old Pandey, who was the man behind the iconic advertisements of Fevicol, Cadbury, Asian Paints, and many other brands.

But Pandey’s legacy doesn’t stop at advertisements and brand campaigns. He also helped craft a tag line, which may go down as one of the most memorable ones — ‘Ab ki Baar, Modi sarkar’ — which was used during Narendra Modi’s election campaign before the 2014 general elections.

As we bid adieu to this doyen of advertising, here’s a look at the man and the legacy he leaves behind.

Piyush Pandey’s early life

Pandey was born in 1955 in Jaipur in a family of nine children — seven daughters and two sons, his siblings include film director Prasoon Pandey and singer-actor Ila Arun. He completed his education from St Xavier’s School, Jaipur and St Stephen’s College, Delhi.

Before joining advertising in 1982, the moustachioed man — his facial hair was quite a feature — he had jobs in various fields, including playing cricket, tea tasting, and construction work. But it was at Ogilvy India, he found his true calling and subsequently changed the advertising world.

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Piyush Pandey becomes the ad man

At 27, Pandey joined Ogilvy at a time when the profession was dominated by English. He realised that advertising had to speak to the people and broke the mould by drafting campaigns in Hindi.

Through his many campaigns for brands such as Asian Paints, Fevicol and Cadbury’s, he brought Hindi and everyday colloquialisms into advertisements. As a former colleague told Moneycontrol, “He changed not just the language of Indian advertising, he changed its grammar.”

In a career spanning over 40 years and began with an ad for Sunlight detergent, he has delivered some of the most memorable campaigns. For instance, Asian Paints’ “Har khushi mein rang laaye”, Cadbury’s “Kuch Khaas Hai”, Fevicol’s iconic “Egg” film, and Hutch’s pug ad.

He slowly rose to the top of the advertising world; under his leadership, Ogilvy remained the best advertising agency for 12 years during which he also won several awards. In fact, Pandey and his brother, Prasoon, became the first Asians to receive the prestigious Lion of St. Mark at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

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He was also awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest honours, in 2016.

But Pandey’s brilliance wasn’t limited to advertising. He was the lyricist of Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, an Indian song that promoted national integration and unity in diversity. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film Bhopal Express. He also appeared in front of the cameras — he acted in John Abraham-starrer Madras Café in 2013.

In 2023, he stepped down from the leadership role at Ogilvy, serving in an advisory manner. But for many this marked a poignant moment in the Indian advertising world.

Piyush Pandey and the ‘Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar’ campaign

Before the 2014 general elections in India, came a slogan that is now believed to be the most powerful and most popular — ‘Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar (This time, it’s a Modi government).

At the time, everywhere you went, at every corner you visited, one could see or hear — ‘Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar’.

It was after the elections and Narendra Modi’s thumping victory that Pandey spoke about the campaign and the catch line. He said that he knew of Modi back when he was the chief minister of Gujarat and they had met to work on a Gujarat tourism campaign.

He revealed that Modi later approached him before the 2014 polls to work with him once again. But at the time, Pandey was unsure. “We’d never worked for a political party and openly stated that we don’t. And then we did,” he told CNBC.

The change of heart came because of their previous relationship. “I met the man, I said (this is) a person who knows what he wants. And a person who is willing to listen … I had no way of saying no.”

He revealed that the brief at the time was to create a campaign that focused on Modi himself rather than the BJP, and one that was easily understandable. “They knew the market, we knew the language… The success of the campaign… was because of people speak. There was not one word which was party speak, it was common words that a common man uses on the street.”

When Piyush was asked about the tagline and its contribution to Modi’s success at the polls, he remained modest as ever. “No advertising campaign can win you an election, it is those people who work day in day out on the ground to keep contact with the likes of you and me.”

“It would be fooling yourself to say that you made the difference. You did your job well, somebody did fantastic bowling and you held the catch nicely,” he said of his work.

What was even more notable about the ‘Ab ki baar, Modi sarkar’ campaign was that it even featured on sports channels in the form of small animation films. One such 20-second visual began with the line: “Bina captain ke team karegi haar, isliye abki baar Modi sarkar (Without a captain, the team will lose / That is why, this time, Modi government)”.

The campaign was so successful that in 2019, the Modi team refurbished it, this time saying - ‘Phir ek baar, Modi sarkar’.

When Trump adapted the campaign himself

The success of Piyush’s campaign became even more evident when Donald Trump adapted it before the 2016 US presidential elections — ‘Ab ki baar, Trump Sarkar’. And when asked how he felt about Trump borrowing the slogan, Piyush told CNBC, “You feel good that it travels.”

With inputs from agencies