Diwali 2021: Campaigns That Spark Joy This Festive Season
In a nod to a more ‘normal’ semblance of life in India, this year’s Diwali festivities have started kicking off in the country. And what better way to depict this than for marketers, agencies and brands to unleash their dormant creativity during the Festival of Lights. From a Cadbury campaign celebrating small businesses with an AI version of Shah Rukh Khan, to a reminder of the importance of being together from Vivo India, this year’s got plenty of heart-warming messages.
Here’s a roundup of India’s Diwali campaigns that are on our radar with commentary from some of the experts behind them.
Amazon - #ApnoWaliDiwali
Agency: Amazon. Production: Big Momma Productions
Axis Bank – Dil Se Open Celebrations
Agency: Lowe Lintas
“There’s something about festivals, that tends to turn advertising into causevertising,” says Lowe Lintas’ regional creative officer Amar Singh who worked on the campaigns for Axis Bank this year. “Some films are saying things that truly need to be said while some are just looking at being spoken about.”
He explains how the final campaigns were landed on: “For Axis Bank’s festive offers, we decided on going with a popularly used phrase ‘Diwali hai kya?’ [what is Diwali?] - a phrase often used to hold people back from doing what their heart wants – And turning it on its head.”
Axis Bank - #PauseTheBargain
Agency: AutumnGREY
A campaign to celebrate small businesses and set to a video of India’s journey from its independence to modern-day mask-wearing by AutumnGREY was the idea behind this year’s Diwali campaign. Bodh Deb, senior vice president of integration & growth at the agency explains the idea that made it: “2021 was yet another challenging year for our industry. While things were better compared to 2020, we still had to tread cautiously and ensure that we continued to be sensitive about the reality on the ground.”
“The campaign idea stemmed from the insight that as Indians, our love for bargaining whilst shopping is legendary, an age-old behaviour that has survived several eras whilst everything else around us might have changed. Today we needed to step up as a nation and temporarily hold this age-old practice as a mark of solidarity with those whose livelihood depends on their small, local businesses.”
British Airways – The Best Gift
Agency: Ogilvy India
Cadbury – Not Just A Cadbury Ad 2.0
Agency: Wavemaker India, Ogilvy India
Mondelez India’s senior director of marketing, Anil Viswanathan explains what went into the spot: “When we launched, ‘Not Just A Cadbury Ad’ in 2020, we aimed to integrate creativity and technology to help small businesses who suffered a setback because of the pandemic. The massive success and happiness we generated with our first edition promoted us to take it to next level in 2021. However, this time we wanted to leverage technology in a bigger way to enable local retailers to make a personalised version of their ads, using the AI-Powered technology developed by Rephrase.ai.
“By onboarding India’s much-loved actor, Shah Rukh Khan, we aim to shine a light on as many local businesses as possible and make him the ambassador India’s small business owners would have always aspired to have. With our latest campaign, we hope for our consumers to not just take home our products, but also live our purpose of small acts of generosity as they welcome the festive season with their loved ones. We hope our effort will result in local businesses getting the much-needed love and sales they deserve.”
Dhara Cooking Oils - Naya Riwaaj Dhara ke Saath
Agency: DDB Mudra North
Garima & Mogambo – GM Luxury Home Décor
Agency: Taproot Dentsu
HP India – Diye Se Diya Jalao
Creative: Simple Creative
ICICI Bank – Festive Bonanza
Agency: FCB Ulka
JBL - #MuteTheWorld
Agency: Havas Creative Group India
Lal HIT
Agency: Lowe Lintas
Amar from Lowe Lintas shares his insights on this spot: “For Hit, we decided to look closely at the cleaning ritual associated with Diwali. And how deep cleaning can sometimes unearth things that can cause us a fair degree of harm. Cockroaches among them.”
“Both campaigns are designed to advertise a product or an offer more than a cause. And to hopefully put a smile on people’s faces. After all, we could all use more of that.”
Lifestyle – #DilSeDiwali
Agency: Wunderman Thompson India
L&T Realty – Best Diwali gift for your loved ones
Agency: Contract Advertising, Mumbai
Metro – Let There Be Bright
Nykaa – Iss Diwali, Tu Khoob Saj
Concept: Sideways. Director: Good Morning Films
OPPO – Light Up New Beginnings
Agency: W+K Delhi
Parker Pens - Diwali
Agency: Ogilvy India
realme - #HopeForGreatThings
Reliance Digital – Apne Apne Rishton Ki Boli
Agency: 21N78E Creative Labs
Vivo India - #JoyOfHomecoming
Agency: Dentsu Impact
