A Good Advertisement
By Aadi Batra
“Asian Paints – Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai” “Cadbury Dairy Milk – Asli Swaad Zindagi Ka” “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, Toh Sur Bane Hamara” “Abki Baar – Modi Sarkar!”
Each of these ad campaigns transformed the way Indians feel, think and act. Asian Paints became a symbol of identity beyond colours. Cadbury chocolates were no longer a children’s treat but a celebration for all age groups. Mile Sur Mera Tumhara led a campaign of national integration, and “Abki Baar – Modi Sarkar” played a defining role in shaping public sentiment for the BJP-led NDA’s landslide victory in the 2014 General Elections.
Despite playing distinct roles that are commercial success, unity in diversity, and political gain, they share a powerful similarity. These campaigns were crafted by India’s most iconic adman, the late Piyush Pandey, whose work proved that good advertisements not only help sell the message but shape culture and influence decisions.
Pandey had his own way of advertising his clients. While he was Executive Chairman and Chief Content Officer in Ogilvy India, all his advertisements spoke the language of the people. He used colloquial phrases, relatable characters, everyday humour and emotional appeal to win people’s hearts and minds. In many of the ads, he used his personal experiences, like travelling in buses and trains or stories from his cricketing days, which connected with the middle-class audience in India. This way, his ads never seemed like a sales pitch but as stories people imagined themselves in. When we say an ad “touches us,” we mean that it could connect with us emotionally and personally, rather than seeming like a mere commercial message.
There is an important question we must ask ourselves. “Why do such ads work?” And the simple answer is the science behind storytelling.
On the surface, a 30-second commercial may seem a bit short to influence a population. But research shows that we humans react to stories and emotional cues faster than logical arguments or product details. We, humans, are rather lazy in remembering facts, but we always remember feelings associated with the said facts. We may not recall how strong Fevicol glue claims to be, but we will always remember the people stuck to the bus because it captured the brand’s personality better than any specification.
We may not pay attention to the nutritional value of the dairy milk, but we will remember the girl dancing on the field because her friend won the cricket match, which reflected pure, unfiltered joy, a joy Cadbury democratised across age and gender. The shades of colour on the walls of our homes may be blurry, but the idea of “Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai” becomes an intricate part of how we see and portray our homes. Similarly, Mile Sur Mera Tumhara did not just emphasize unity and diversity, but also made us feel united through music and shared emotion. And while we may read political manifestos published in newspapers and websites of political parties, after hearing the repeated slogan across platforms, a slogan like “Abki Baar – Modi Sarkar!” creates a familiarity that we trust, which did not just communicate a campaign; it sold a future through political participation. The reason for this ‘familiarity’ and ‘belonging’ is what psychologists and researchers call the Mere Exposure Effect. The more we come across something, the more we tend to like it and trust it, sometimes unintentionally. Repetition is not the only thing that could persuade us; it is also the repeated feeling we associate with a message. When an ad repeatedly evokes joy, belonging, unity, or aspiration, our minds begin to treat that emotion as familiar and therefore trustworthy.
Pandey’s campaigns, rather his stories, mastered this. They were not just repeating visuals; they repeated feelings. His ads did not sell just features; they sold feelings. These feelings gave a sense of belonging, whether it was through national integration, a simple chocolate bar or belief in projected growth or political future. Psychology further explains this as emotional contagion. It is the tendency to absorb emotions when we see them in others. When an advertisement expresses joy, excitement, pride, or unity, a viewer instinctively tries to mirror these emotions in their personal life. This emotional transfer strengthens the bond between the audience and the message of the ad.
Another key factor is narrative absorption. When people are drawn into a brief story, in our case a thirty-second ad, they lower their defences and accept the message more naturally. Pandey’s storytelling created these small immersive moments where viewers were not just watching an ad, they were taking part in its world.
Whether it is commercial, social, or political advertisements, all ads shape the collective imagination of a society. They influence the products we buy, the social messages we want to put out as a nation or even the leaders we choose to elect to power.
But what does it mean in the current context? In an era of AI-generated jingles, influencer marketing, and digital ads, all of these are forced onto us. The meaningful human interaction, connection or touch has been lost, and this has ensured that memorable advertisements, the ones that shaped a culture, fading away. Many companies now aggressively advertise their products, forcing them on consumers rather than selling them authentically. This is one of the reasons why people have started subscribing to ad–free media, not because the ads are bad, but because bad ads exhaust us.
By understanding consumer psychology, people can protect themselves from becoming passive targets. When we begin to ask ourselves questions like how repetition can manipulate us; how emotions can overshadow facts, how storytelling can influence our behaviour and identity and how slogans can trigger emotions and shape beliefs, we become conscious decision makers rather than mere targets of the ad agencies.
A good ad informs, inspires, and includes the audience, not overwhelm, guilt or trick them. Pandey‘s legacy reminds us that an ad can unite an entire country, help us celebrate individuality and bring us joy without manipulating us, all at the same time.
We all owe a tribute to him. Not only by honouring his creativity but by also ensuring that future advertisements carry the same qualities and a sense of humanity. If companies and political parties want our attention, they must earn it – not hijack it in the media. And if consumers want meaningful communication, companies must give creativity, ethics, and authenticity, not just marketing gimmicks.
Great advertising is not about selling a commodity more. It is about speaking the truth creatively, touching people’s lives responsibly and of course, shaping society for the better.
(The writer is First Year BTech Student at Plaksha University, Mohali).
