How Piyush Pandey discovered Cadbury girl Shimona Rashi who went viral before ‘viral’ existed

When Piyush Pandey passed away at 70, the advertising world lost not only one of its most celebrated creative minds but also the man who gave Indian brands a heart and a voice.

From Fevicol’s “Jor laga ke haisha” to Asian Paints’ “Har ghar kuch kehta hai”, Pandey turned ad campaigns into cultural milestones.

But among his many classics, one campaign stands apart, a young woman dancing across a cricket field in uninhibited joy, chocolate bar still in hand.

That 1994 Cadbury Dairy Milk commercial didn’t just sell a product; it changed how India saw itself, and its chocolate.

The Challenge: How To Make Chocolate ‘Adult’

By the early 1990s, Cadbury was battling a perception problem. Chocolate was for kids, not for grown-ups.

Ogilvy’s brief was deceptively simple: make Cadbury aspirational for adults without losing its innocence.

Pandey, who was then on a Diwali break in the US, was urgently called back to save the account. On the flight home, somewhere over the Atlantic, he began scribbling a few lines on his boarding pass, words that would later become a jingle: “There’s something so real in everyone…”

That instinctive note became the emotional spine of a campaign that made advertising history.

The Tune That Came Together Overnight

Back in Mumbai, Pandey roped in jazz legend Louis Banks, who composed the melody in minutes before catching his next flight.

Singer Gary Lawyer lent his voice to the English version, but Pandey felt the tune needed a local soul. He rewrote the lyrics in Hindi, keeping Banks’ rhythm and brought in Shankar Mahadevan to record the new track.

Mahadevan’s improvisation on the line “Kuch swaad hai…” added a warmth that turned the jingle into an emotion, a sound that would echo across India for decades.

The Girl Who Danced Into India’s Memory

The final piece of the puzzle was the protagonist, someone who embodied unfiltered happiness. Pandey didn’t want a trained actor or choreographed dancer. He wanted spontaneity.

That’s how Shimona Rashi entered the picture. She wasn’t a professional performer, but her natural, unrehearsed energy was exactly what the team wanted.

Director Mahesh Mathai shot the sequence at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium in one take. Shimona’s free-spirited dance, leaping past security guards after a winning cricket shot, became the heartbeat of the campaign.

The tagline “Asli swaad zindagi ka” captured the emotion: joy, as real as it gets.

The Ad That Redefined A Brand

When the Cadbury girl hit Indian television screens, she instantly became part of pop culture.

For a generation, that 45-second clip symbolised a new kind of India: one that is more confident, spontaneous and comfortable expressing joy in public.

“The campaign changed how Cadbury was consumed,” said Prakash Nair, Associate President at Ogilvy.

“It transformed chocolate from a parent-to-child gift into something that adults could claim for themselves.”

The ad went on to win multiple awards, including Campaign of the Century at the Abbys. But its real victory was cultural: it made indulgence aspirational, not childish.

Shimona Rashi’s tweet

Reacting to sudden passing of adman Piyush Pandey, Rashi wrote on X, “Heartbroken over Piyush Pandey’s passing today. His genius wove nostalgia and India’s soul into timeless tales—from Cadbury’s sweet joys and Fevicol’s unbreakable laughs to Asian Paints’ heartfelt homes and Vodafone’s pug magic. Forever grateful, legend. Rest in peace.#PiyushPanday.”

Legacy, Reimagined

In 2020, Ogilvy revisited the idea with a gender-reversed version; this time, a man ran onto the field as a woman hit the winning shot.

Pandey gave the project his blessing with one creative non-negotiable:

“Change everything if you want — just don’t touch the music.”

Even three decades later, that melody, written on a boarding pass and brought to life by an untrained dancer, remains instantly recognisable.

Why It Still Matters

The Cadbury girl campaign wasn’t just about selling chocolate; it was about selling feeling.

In today’s data-driven ad world, where virality is engineered, Pandey’s 1994 classic remains a reminder that true connection is instinctive — not algorithmic.

He didn’t chase trends. He created moments that outlived them.