Padma Awards 2026: A dvertising legend Piyush Pandey confered with Padma Bhushan posthumously

Droupadi Murmu presented Padma Awards 2026 at Civil Investiture Ceremony - I at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Often hailed as the "voice of Indian advertising", the Padma Bhushan recognises Piyush's transformative and decades-long contribution to the Indian advertising and creative communication. Piyush Pander's award was received by his wife Neeta Joshi on his behalf at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today.

Advertising legend Piyush Pandey passed away on October 24, 2025, at the age of 70 years. According to one of the relatives, Pandey had been suffering from pneumonia for the past few weeks after he returned from a trip. His health continued to worsen, and he had not been responding to treatment.

Pandey,70, started his advertising journey in 1982 with Ogilvy & Mather India (now Ogilvy India), beginning as a trainee account executive before transitioning to the creative side. With his talent, he literally changed the face of Indian advertising.

He was the mastermind behind iconic ad campaigns like Asian Paints' "Har khushi mein rang laaye", Cadbury's "Kuch Khaas Hai", and Fevicol's iconic "Egg" film.

In 2004, Piyush Pandey etched his name in history as the first Asian to serve as jury president at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. His trailblazing contributions were later recognised with the CLIO Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 and the Padma Shri, making him the first figure from Indian advertising to receive the national honour.

Piyush's last rites were attended by the legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan and others.

Meanwhile, for the year 2026, the President has approved conferment of 131 Padma Awards, including 2 duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one).The list comprises 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards.

19 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 6 persons from the category of Foreigners / NRI / PIO / OCI and 16 Posthumous awardees. (ANI)