‘I will have to prove myself all over again’ – Piyush Pandey on becoming global CCO at Ogilvy
Ogilvy has appointed Piyush Pandey, currently the executive chairman and chief creative officer for the agency’s South Asia operations as its global CCO. Pandey’s promotion comes shortly after the abrupt firing this July of Tham Khai Meng, the former global CCO at Ogilvy.
Pandey is one of India’s most celebrated and influential ad men. He has been instrumental in transforming Ogilvy from a stodgy agency in the 1980s to a creative powerhouse in India, over the last couple of decades.
The clients he has created some of India’s best loved campaigns for include Cadbury Dairy Milk, Asian Paints, Fevicol, and even the current national party in power, the BJP.
Mumbrella caught up with Pandey for an exclusive interview on his new role and what it entails.
Could you tell us a bit about how you came to be global chief creative officer?
“It was completely (Ogilvy worldwide CEO) John Seifert’s decision. He took care of a lot of things. He has known me for a long time. He knew, for instance, that I’m not going to step out of India to live anywhere abroad.
“So, when he spoke to me, he said ‘I want you to be my partner to help make the next chapter happen.’ And he had anticipated and taken care of any issues. I had no questions because he answered them before I asked them.
“Now, I have to live up to his expectations.”
Was doing the job from India non-negotiable?
“It was. I have always said that. It was something John knew. There is a huge plan he has for the next chapter. He thought I was worthy to do the job and has surrounded me with some wonderful people.”
What are your thoughts on the job?
“It is a job to be done, a responsibility and not a medal. I will have to prove myself all over again.
“We will get on with it. We have gender balance to handle, which we both believe in. So onwards and upwards!”
What sort of an additional responsibility does this place on you?
“Right now, we have a pending meeting. The responsibility is to partner John in the goals he has specified for the company.
“To do greater service to our clients, to our people and their ambitions. I agree with everything he says and think there is an opportunity.”
In a world where technology is informing the insights that drive advertising, what are you going to do as a leader to orient your teams?
“Make sure that we are never behind technology and one step ahead of it. And we will have the right people who will help us do that. We will respect them, learn from them and move ahead.”
People in advertising agencies are used to thinking creatively in mediums like film. But marketing today demands a lot of creative thought on everything from shopper marketing to the various sub-genres and micro-niches of digital. How are you going to get people to start thinking that way?
“It is an assumption that people who do technology are not creative. If they were not, they wouldn’t use it the way they do. Mediums change over time, but ideas are always required. So, every new technology that comes in is a new opportunity for you to express your ideas.
“Technology and creativity have to work hand in hand. Both of them cannot do anything without the other.”
So this is the secret sauce to push Ogilvy into its new chapter?
Well, forgive me but that really isn’t going to drive it anywhere, except over the edge. Piyush is an icon in India but elsewhere I doubt any prospective young creative is going to be swayed to join the ‘agency of the future’. And to drive the Global agenda from Mumbai, that’s going to be a lot of business class flights, let’s hope [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
I’m also at a loss with the goal of having 10 members of the WW Creative Council to be female creative leaders by January 2020, where there’s literally [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]…Good luck Ogilvy, you’re going to need it more than your press releases.
ReplyI agree
Replywell, they were never going to bring in an outsider to sit above this guy…O is an absolute behemoth in India and this guy wields a lot of power there.
ReplyOther than accept trophies on stage, head award juries, push for pro active work and place friends in ECD jobs throughout the network, what does a global creative grand poobah actually do?
ReplyI agree. Interested to know
ReplyIm beginning to like John Seifert a lot.
ReplyHe has removed objectionable people who deserved to be fired
without giving a damn about their so-called seniority and “awards”.
And he has appointed an interesting candidate….Pandey is very highly respected in India….whether he can translate that on a global level we shall see.
I would agree. John [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] after he heard the evidence. This is a real leader. [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
ReplySeifert equally needs to get rid of his ‘yes’ men (notably suits) in Asia (kw) if he’s a REAL leader. Over to you John Seifert….
Replylike your attitude Piyush, go for it!
ReplyI know this man and I would day give him a chance. The [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] was tossed out the NYC window thanks to a few good women speaking up for themselves, and now we have Piyush. He is not quite the reboot we wanted, but for Ogilvy it is the very best we will get. This guy and his Ogilvy office were very much part of the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] ad machine we all know at Ogilvy. Such a wasted use of time just to stroke one man’s global Cannes [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. But like I said, we need to give Piyush a chance to stop the vile abuse of ego-stroking award show creative packs and get back to work saving this company. Piyush, I would say one real, legit, signed-off Cannes lion will replace all 1000 of the faked Cannes Lions [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] ever won. I think you know deep down that the work is a load of bull and you do not need to continue the conspiracy any longer. You sir, are better than that. You all pandered to that [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] like a bunch of scared weaklings when you should have stopped him cold in his tracks and you know it. You can save our industry by just shutting it the hell down and get the talent re-focused on the client work. We all bloody gave up didn’t we. We all gave up on trying to make our clients work good and ended up trying to justify our [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] ads and tell the world they were real. We all gave up on making our clients work competent enough to enter and get paid along the way. We put our best people to work on winning these stupid trophies with [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] clients, [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] work and [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] award show films. We were all lead down the easy road with our jobs threatened and the wrong people got promoted and praised as we won bag after bag of fools gold from France to London. I would urge you, Piyush to stop while you can, reset, fire the liars, cheats abusers and scammers from Singapore to Mumbai to Brazil to Paris. You know their names and you know what they turned into under the global leadership. Don’t allow [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]’s ghost of insecurity speak to your ego and beg you to win the wrong way. In the end [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] legacy is just an vacuous pile of fake trophies that nobody ever really respected. The [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] made Ogilvy a running joke over the last few years and I fear we will never recover. [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] put millions of dollars and effort into something that wasn’t quite right and we all let him. [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] counted every win and every point like a fanatic and while we all thought it amusing we let [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] go on. Most of us in account management weren’t quite sure why but we let it happen but in the end we all regretted it didn’t we. It was as simple as: winning awards was good, not winning awards was bad. Now, after how many times on the Palais stage [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] stand up there like a bunch of morons with no money left in the moral bank, no real credibility with garish half-smiles as they knew they cheated their way up with bullshit award films and posters. The [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] leaders destroyed it for everybody. I understand that [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] pressured us all into it and you had to deliver but those days are over thanks to #[Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. This is now your chance Piyush, this is your time to change, and start with our office here in India. Make India stand for something truthful in the world not something suspect or questionable. Don’t fall into the sad trap of insecurity [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] climbed into. If you really think about it; what did it get him? Our dear former [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] and ever single award [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] has ever won is still not fit to stand next to the real creative names in the world and [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] knows it. [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines], you were never good enough because you did it all with fake creative work and not advertising like the rest of the greats did. You will be an asterisk* in the award history books for the rest of your days. So Piyush, get into the edit room and stop your CDs from making these fake award films right now and start doing this job right with real work and stop the madmen from inside your organisation from India then the other countries. Clean the mess with a fresh broom. Do the right thing and stop the award chase before this business spits you out into the back alley too. Good luck old friend, this maybe our last shot and doing it right.
ReplyI recall Khai stating in his first press release when he got the job that he saw his role as the creative conscience of David Ogilvy.
ReplyClearly he [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] for both words.
My earlier cynical comment about the role of a global CCO was based on the perversion of the remit as executed by the last title bearer.
Piyush has the one chance to actually live up to David’s legacy as the one who sets the standard and shows the way.
Remember: A honest bronze for a legit client is worth more than all the golds for a scam.
David’s name has been suillled and made a laughing stock under the old guard. Some of which are still around.
I wish Piyush all the best in doing a difficult task at a time when WPP has today announced a global staff redundancy for 3500.
What’s more, the new wpp Chief has stated that there’s no place for misplaced affection for names like JWT & Y&R.
I find that strange given that esteem and affection are the cornerstones of a power brand as espoused by Y&R Brand Asset Valuator.
Maybe the chief should read what’s on the totem poles his braves have been carving for a living.
This is clearly a good day for WPP’s rivals.
Wow, the last two posts should be articles on their own. For @Inside Job I think I know who you are old friend and it is quite obvious which name was replaced with the [Mumbrella Guideline Police] but solid stuff sahib. @Khaisghost, I think we all agree, and I hope you both don’t get dropped with the WPP Global 35000 Lottery this Christmas! David Oglivy would puke in his own mouth if he sat through just a minute of all the conferences and meetings where these vile second-hand managers pissed about his good name with phantom quotes, fake advertising and naff hyperbole. God this place just reeks of rank and [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] this early morn. Good luck to us all.
ReplyThere is still one creep to go before this organisation can be totally free.
ReplyGot him.
ReplyIt is a known fact now that the Ogilvy [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] matrix was lead by the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] Singaporean and former global chief in NYC. I remember one year in Cannes [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] photoshopped into a den of real lions! hahaha. I will miss those gems, but it is time for a change. The [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] king turned our business into the longest running and most expensive joke in the history of the industry. [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] too played this game but regardless [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] stop it all now. Last chance for Ogilvy to redeem its [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] name in the business. Good luck Piyush, and do check in on [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]’s little brother.
ReplyI always find that nothing signals ‘eye on the future’ like the appointment of a man Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
ReplyMan, ‘Push’ isn’t the word….they’re setting you up, Piyush, as [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]! Messed up [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]! Good luck bhai!
ReplyHave your say