There will never be another Piyush Pandey.
Shimona Rashi’s X account goes by the name of ‘That Cadbury Girl.’ Hopefully, in the next few minutes, I’ll be able to present a connection between the two beyond the one you already know. PP was not a marketer. It would be a grave disservice to call him one because we all are, but marketers. And we don’t hold a candle to his achievements in & contributions to Indian advertising.

He was an icon. And hence there will never be another Piyush Pandey. My thought must not be perceived as cynical or designed to break young marketers’ hearts. But I have this thought for one other reason.

Another Piyush Pandey can’t happen because the world of advertising has changed. The contours of marketing, the platforms, the audience, and – apologies because we have heard & said this in a million meetings about 7 million times already—audiences’ attention span.

Which is probably at an all-time low, and marketers have been largely successful in adapting their storytelling in accordance. Shorter attention span demands lower frequency of even the best creatives in an unsuspecting consumer’s life & social feed which in turn means a higher number of unique creatives.

Which means lower chances of remembering great campaigns because one simply doesn’t see a great campaign over and over on prime time for months at end anymore.

There was a time when you knew ‘that ad you loved’ might air anytime during a commercial break while watching a cricket match. And you stayed a little longer in front of the TV to watch Rajesh Khera edge Kamal Chopra in his fishing experiment with Fevikwik.

What’s changed, you ask? Excess exhausts excitement. And your audience lives in the age of excess. If you’re a marketer you might watch an ad you loved twice perhaps and then a few more times while showing it to colleagues or referring to it for inspiration during a pitch. The consumer doesn’t do all that. Even if she wants, she probably won’t be able to because like we have established – attention span is the casualty in this age of excess.

Think of how many times you used to linger around the TV set to watch a movie trailer set for a Friday release at a later date. And then the excitement on said Friday – when you actually occupy a comfortable seat in your nearest cinema theatre – and all those red velvet seats and that smell of fresh popcorn.

Doesn’t happen anymore now, does it? Think OTTs. And hence ultimately – we don’t know or remember the brilliant names behind great advertising campaigns anymore.

Remember ‘the Cadbury Girl’ expressing her most genuine reaction to that clutch of six?

Shimona Rashi, whose X account goes by the name of ‘That Cadbury Girl’ probably won’t be able to recreate it again even if she tried.
But Cadbury did try. Again. 27 years later.

The same film. The same music. The same narrative structure. Similar camera angles for telling shots. The same song (almost a non-negotiable for him). Except the gender twist to celebrate women achievers.

Everything designed to invoke nostalgia. To recreate an iconic moment in Indian advertising.

But ask yourself – especially if you were witnessing the masterpiece take shape right in front of your eyes – which one do you instantly think of when someone says ‘that Cadbury cricket ad’?

Frequency. Attention span. Different time. And era that has ceased to exist.

One who is remembered in stories lives forever says an old Norse proverb.

So until there’s even one who remembers that ad they watched that day during that cricket match – he shall live.
You & I will make him immortal every time we refer to his work during endless brainstorms & huddles.
The captain certainly has left loyal, zealous dead poets behind him.
But also remember—you and I – we are mere humans.
And if the yardstick of immortality is him, there’s no heartbreak in that.
Do your thing.
Shoot high. Shoot your best. Every time you’re staring at a brief or breathing heavy before a pitch.
You’ll probably be the most iconic version of you one day.
But there’ll never be – another Piyush Pandey.

Tribute By –
Nishant Kumar Singh, Co-founder and Creative Director, Lyxel&Flamingo