Diwali, the festival of lights, is a time when the whole of India comes alive with joy and excitement. It's a season when families gather, homes are adorned with shimmering lights, and an unmistakable festive cheer fills the air. However, this infectious enthusiasm extends far beyond our homes and streets; it also finds its place in the world of marketing and advertising. Brands launch exclusive Diwali campaigns that connect with people's emotions and amplify the celebratory spirit.

Some brands infuse their Diwali ads with heartwarming emotions, others with boundless creativity, and some with a dash of humour and wit. Each one strives to get closer to their audience, running captivating campaigns that add an extra sparkle to the already luminous festival of Diwali. For marketers in the industry, these campaigns serve as a wellspring of inspiration, while for consumers, they become a source of joy and smiles.

Let's delve into some of the most cherished Diwali ads that managed to capture the essence of the festival and make our Diwali celebrations a little brighter. These ads touch hearts and kindle the Diwali spirit, reminding us of the magic that advertising can create during important festive times.

Cadbury Celebrations Apni Dukaan Campaign

In 2023, Cadbury continued its tradition of heartwarming Diwali campaigns. This year's "Apni Dukaan" campaign stands out for its unique approach to supporting local businesses. The advertisement features three students surprising a local diya maker by showcasing her business on a Cadbury billboard, emphasising the importance of supporting home-based entrepreneurs.

Under the #ThisAdIsMyStore campaign, Cadbury Celebrations empowers these entrepreneurs by transforming Cadbury ads into promotional platforms for their businesses. Each ad includes a QR code that directs users to a local homepreneur's WhatsApp for Business chat, allowing customers to explore and purchase homemade products. Launched on September 29, 2023, the campaign has garnered positive responses for its empowering message and support for small businesses. Notably, the campaign's YouTube video received a remarkable 21 million views.

Real Greetings by Real Juice 

The Real Greetings campaign by Real Juices unfolds a touching story that encourages us to express our gratitude not just to our loved ones but also to those unsung heroes who support us throughout the year. Real Juices seeks to convey a powerful message this Diwali—while we shower gifts and greetings upon our dear ones, we often overlook those closest to us. In the spirit of Diwali, take a moment to thank them by gifting them a package filled with health and nutrition in the form of Real juice gift packs. Dabur Real Greetings is a heartwarming way to extend your best wishes to those who truly care for us.

The ad's profound message resonated with the audience, amassing approximately 2 million views within two days of its release. It not only tugs at the heartstrings but also promotes the Real gift package as a thoughtful and wholesome gifting option for consumers.

Mama Earth’s #GoodnessMakesYouBeautiful 

Mamaearth's 2023 Diwali campaign, titled #GoodnessMakesYouBeautiful, delivers a powerful message about the beauty of kindness and compassion. Through a series of ads, the campaign showcases the transformative impact of goodness, both inwardly and outwardly. The tagline, "You're beautiful," reminds us that true beauty goes beyond appearances, emphasising the significance of small acts of kindness. The campaign has resonated positively with the audience, conveying the idea that each of us can make a difference.

Kalyan Jewellers 

With a legacy that spans years, Kalyan Jewellers continued to capture the essence of Diwali in their 2023 advertisement. The ad beautifully encapsulates the spirit of various Diwali occasions and celebrations. Kalyan Jewellers subtly conveys the message that jewellery and precious gems are integral to the festivities of India and are passed down through generations. The ad evokes the emotions of pujas, the bonds between siblings, family celebrations, and the sentiment of sharing.

This 50-second ad became an instant hit, amassing an impressive 21 million views on YouTube. Kalyan Jewellers continues to prove that their advertisements are not just visually stunning but also profoundly resonant with the traditions and emotions that define Diwali for many.

Shoppers Stop’s #WeTimeWaliDiwali  

In 2023, Shoppers Stop introduced the heartwarming "We Time Wali Diwali" campaign, beautifully capturing the essence of friendship and bonding with loved ones. The campaign revolves around the story of Ritu, reinforcing the idea that Diwali is more about quality time spent with close friends and family than extravagant travel plans or grand parties. Shoppers Stop's message is clear: the true essence of celebration lies in meaningful moments and cherished memories with the people who matter the most.

Released in October, the ad was warmly received by audiences, amassing over 8 million views on YouTube. It's a touching reminder of what truly makes Diwali special.

McDonald's Cousin Wali Diwali 

McDonald's heartwarming campaign, "For Your Other Diwalis," offers a unique perspective on the significance of every little celebration and the brand's role in these moments. The ad portrays a group of friends celebrating Diwali in secret, emphasising McDonald's presence during various celebrations, big or small. Diwali has numerous little celebrations, such as preparing the house, office festivities, or reunions with old friends. 

Some celebrations, however, are hidden away, shared only with cousins. Under the banner of #ForYourOtherDiwalis, McDonald's ensures that there's a McDonald's order to enhance every type of Diwali celebration, including the cherished "Cousin Wali Diwali." The ad video resonated with viewers, garnering 1.5 million views on YouTube, emphasising McDonald's commitment to making every Diwali celebration special.

Embrace Ads That Light Up Celebrations

In a world where advertising often competes for attention, these Diwali campaigns transcended the realm of commercials to leave a lasting imprint on our hearts. During festive seasons, brands have a unique opportunity to connect with the emotions of their consumers and become an integral part of the celebrations. This not only humanises the brand but also fosters a sense of belonging among consumers. 

These festive campaigns play a pivotal role in boosting sales during the festive period, and in a country where Diwali holds immense significance, leveraging such campaigns becomes not just an option but a necessity. These ads contribute an additional layer of radiance to the Diwali celebrations, amplifying the joy and delight that consumers experience during this special time.

Marketing is all about connecting with people and the message you are trying to get across to the masses. In today’s digital era, your best bet is digital marketing. Meeting customer needs digitally, having an online presence, organising campaigns - these steps can turn things around for brands. A well-planned strategy, proper use of media, and smart use of time can make all the difference for a brand with respect to presence, awareness, and image. Here are five in-house campaigns that we planned to help these brands stand out, garnering over 300 million views in totality, leaving a lasting impression.

Join the Revolt (Revolt Motors)

The purpose of this campaign was to introduce India’s first artificially-enabled motorcycle and create brand awareness for ‘Revolt.’ For this, people’s ideas and preconceived notions about electric vehicles had to be changed. Real-time marketing was used to churn out content and spread it across audiences by roping in influencers who spoke about environmental issues and concerns; witty t-shirt slogans like ‘why the fuel,’ ‘RIP Fuel,’ etc. were used - this was done to make people see that pollution masks and petrol will eventually become obsolete, and that the future of the nation lies in electric vehicles. 

The motorcycles were used as a symbol of revolt in #JointheRevolt campaign. A mega unveiling of the product was done in real-time, with YouTubers, Instagrammers, and influencers giving out vocal content. This was further amplified as people started raising back-to-back queries. For direct engagement with the crowd, setups were done in malls with stunt artists to grab the much-needed attention.

The results of this campaign were mind-boggling. Over 20,000 user-generated content was created; there were more than fifty videos with over 13 million views; website visits stood at an astounding 2.44 million, and the figures for content pieces generated was more than 5300.

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Roadies Live Audition (MTV Roadies)

Due to the coronavirus induced lockdown, there were budget cuts, sponsors were stressed to no end, and the drop in Share of Voice was almost unavoidable. However, entertainment was kept on a roll even post the lockdown announcement - for the first time ever in the world, reality show auditions were hosted online. MTV Roadies live auditions were hosted across platforms like Facebook, Tiktok, Youtube, and so on. Videos were recorded via Zoom, highlights were on Voot, and people could access these live auditions on their phones. Participants were seen going live on Facebook and performing tasks for their judges. In the time period between 2nd May 2020 and 26th June 2020, the live auditions reached as many viewers as 10 per cent of MTV’s television reach annually.

This campaign had a reach of more than 2 million, over 500,000 minutes views, and more than 64,000 engagement. About 17.5 crores worth of media mentions were also earned. 

The Neo Tribe (Amazfit India)

#Theneotribe campaign aimed at positioning the Amazfit Neo as a pocket-friendly and retro-styled watch. The hype and buzz were created by letting everyone know about this new neo tribe that was bringing retro back, but fashionably - a marriage of the retro-past with the retro-future. It was seen that with the introduction of pop culture and K-dramas, retro had become like a cult for today’s millennials, and that way, this watch was a great addition to their style statement. The main motive was to have a strong position in the market, increase visibility, and build advocacy for the watch. Influencers and KOLs were also taken on board to spread the message far and wide.

This campaign resulted in a PR reach of 0.99 billion, the value of which stood at about 63.4 million. It had 200,000+ engagements, over 6 million impressions, and the reach was more than 4 million.

Just EMI (Bajaj Finserv)

The concept here was quite simple. A lot of people prefer paying through monthly instalments also known as EMIs (or at least like to have it as an option). Bajaj Finserv has been synonymous with EMIs for quite some time now, and people usually associated the brand with electronics and lifestyle products. This campaign’s aim was to build awareness about products beyond these two categories, with Bajaj catering to 1000+ other categories. 

The strategy was to kickstart #JustEMI so that people would start using Bajaj Finserv cards as their go-to payment methods for whatever purchases they made. This was done through video-led social media marketing, influencer marketing, media, radio bytes, tech integrations, Public relations, and on-ground marketing. It was an interesting amalgamation of how the audience can use EMI cards, what products can be purchased via EMI, and a one-stop solution that showed EMI options across categories.

More than 200 videos were created, and over 60 influencers were activated for this campaign. There was a massive PR reach of over 241 million, over 1.6 million traffic, and transactions worth 33.7 million.

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My Talking Tom Friends

This campaign aimed to launch My Talking Tom Friends as a cool and casual gaming app for the Indian audience apart from facilitating volume game downloads and promoting in-game experiences. Various social media platforms were used for this - Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, Youtube, Tinder, etc. The primary strategy here was to create as much awareness as possible through videos, influencer marketing, and engaging content.

For this, nine influencers were brought in, and the content seeded stood at 25. There were 12 dedicated videos for this campaign, which garnered a colossal amount of views (12.7 Million+). Furthermore, engagements and impressions crossed 1.6 million and 0.6 million, respectively.

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Unlike traditional marketing techniques and campaigns, digital marketing campaigns allow for real-time updates and results that enable us to plan our next move carefully. It is the best medium to connect with potential customers and clients on a global scale. To not use it would mean losing out on a host of golden opportunities. It definitely gives the much needed upper hand!

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