Ad Club Trivandrum honours Piyush Pandey with a Living Room Session tribute

Ad Club Trivandrum honours Piyush Pandey not with a trophy on stage, but with something more intimate a Living Room Session dedicated to his creative legacy. The special edition brought together agency professionals, students and brand leaders to revisit how his work has shaped Indian advertising over more than three decades.

How Ad Club Trivandrum honours Piyush Pandey through conversation

The evening was structured as a reflective conversation rather than a formal award show. Co founder of Stark Communications BR Swarup moderated the session, joined by producer and Nirvana Films co founder Sneha Iype. Swarup introduced Iype as one of the warmest people he has known and someone who has worked closely with Pandey across many chapters of her career.

Iype walked the audience through stories from sets, edit rooms and creative discussions, highlighting the instinctive way Pandey approaches ideas. She stressed how he pays attention to ordinary moments and then finds the emotional centre within them, turning simple observations into lines and scenes that stay with viewers for years.

Revisiting the Hutch Boy and Dog commercial

One of the most moving parts of the session was Iypes recollection of the Hutch Boy and Dog film, now seen as a classic in Indian advertising. She spoke about how Pandey watched the final cut again and again, and how rare it was to see him moved to tears by his own work.

He pushed for the longer sixty two second version to be aired at a time when shorter edits were the norm. That decision underlined his belief that some stories need space to breathe, and that emotions should not be reduced purely to efficiency metrics. The spot went on to become one of the most loved commercials in the country, proving his instinct right.

Leadership lessons from cricket and creative rooms

Iype also drew a line between Pandeys love for cricket and his style of leadership. She described his approach as one that focuses on picking the right team, giving them room to play their game and backing them fully when it matters. That philosophy has influenced many creative leaders who grew under his guidance at Ogilvy and beyond.

When should creative leaders step back rather than step in The session suggested that the answer lies in knowing when your presence adds confidence and when it might crowd out younger voices. Pandey, in Iypes telling, mastered that balance by listening more than he spoke and by celebrating the success of others as much as his own.

A long held wish for the club

Laj Salam, president of Ad Club Trivandrum, shared that the club had long wanted to host Pandey from its launch days. He recalled a message Pandey had sent for the clubs early events and framed this session as a continuation of that connection.

Secretary Vishnu Vijay closed the evening by thanking Iype and Swarup for crafting a space that felt both like a masterclass and a personal tribute. The audience left with not just anecdotes about famous campaigns, but a sense of the values that powered them.

A creative legacy that still feels current

The session ended with a line from Iype that captured the mood of the room.

Piyush had this rare ability to make the ordinary feel magical. He listened, he observed and he spoke straight to the heart. That is why his work still lives in all of us.

Ad Club Trivandrum honours Piyush Pandey at a time when younger professionals are hungry for role models who combine sharp creative thinking with humility and warmth. By framing the tribute as a conversation rather than a ceremony, the club reinforced that his greatest award may be the generations of storytellers who carry his influence forward.

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