India always had a special place in David Ogilvy’s imagination. In fact, his agency was the first multinational to enter the country, with origins going back 86 years. Now working with both local and global clients like Vodafone, Unilever and IBM, Ogilvy, based in Mumbai, is not only the country’s largest agency but also its most award-winning, having been recognized with the highest honors of the Advertising Club of India for the last 16 years, in addition to accolades picked up at Cannes, the Effies, The One Show and a 2012 Lifetime Achievement Clio Award. But Piyush Pandey, executive chairman, creative director, stresses that diversity of creative expression trumps industry acclaim. “Our philosophy is to create communication that first delights people on the streets of India. If that work happens to delight international award juries, it’s a bonus,” says Pandey, noting that most staffers in the agency speak three languages: English, Hindi and one of the country’s 22 other official languages. “We try to create an environment where creativity is welcomed from across functions and disciplines,” he adds. Case in point: Last year’s Google ad “Reunion,” centered around the partition of India, which triggered a strong response in India and Pakistan and went viral even before its TV debut