Cadbury Celebrations and the nok-jhok neighbours
What they did. Cadbury Celebrations, a brand of Mondelez India, made a Diwali campaign about small fights between neighbours. The fights are over parking, a shared wall, pets, noise and cricket in the compound. A box of chocolates is the friendly first move that ends each fight. The work is one ad film and one short film, with new mithai-flavoured chocolates in the same push. Ogilvy India made the creative work. WPP Media plans the media, using creators and gift guides you can shop from.
Why it works (our reading). Almost everyone has a neighbour they bicker with, so the story starts from something true. The gift is shown as a kind act and not as a sales line, which suits a festival when people visit each other. Indian Television lists packs from under Rs 100 up to Rs 575, so the idea fits a small gift and a grand one.
What the report says about impact. The reports give no results yet. They give plans: television, digital, social media and in-store, plus creator-led gift guides. A plan is not a result, so we cannot say whether it sold more.
Done before in another industry. Panasonic, a home appliance brand, used a neighbour at Diwali in 2023. In that film a landlady next door brings sweets, decorates the young couple's doorstep and joins their prayers (MediaNews4U, 13 November 2023). Grapes and Hardcover made it. There the neighbour is kind from the start, while Cadbury's neighbours begin by quarrelling.
What your business can copy. Name one small, true annoyance that your customers share, and make your offer the friendly fix. Say a sweet shop on a busy lane packs a box with a card for the neighbour you argued with about parking. The shop and the card are made up. The only cost is the printing of the card.
Read the original: Indian Television Dot Com, “Cadbury Celebrations launches Diwali campaign to sweeten neighbourly ties”, 12 October 2026, read it here. Also reported by adgully on 12 October 2026.
Cleartrip and the Apology to Brands ads
What they did. Cleartrip, which Flipkart owns, ran front-page newspaper ads on 10 October 2026 to promote the Big Billion Days 2026 sale. The ads say sorry to unnamed brands because their staff may take leave to travel. One has an orange background and one a red background, and the report reads the colours as a nod to Swiggy and Zomato. They ran in The Economic Times (Bengaluru edition) and The Gurgaon Times, and the report does not name the agency.
Why it works (our reading). An apology is the last thing a sale ad should be, so a reader stops to see who is sorry. The joke also says something true about the product: the deals are good enough to pull a person away from work. Leaving the brands unnamed keeps the tone playful, a nod and not an attack.
What the report says about impact. The report gives no results for these ads. It adds context from Redseer: festive e-commerce sales of around Rs 24,000 crore in the first two days of the 2026 sales, from around 8 to 9 crore orders. That figure is about the whole market, not about Cleartrip.
Done before in another industry. In August 2026 Zomato, a food delivery app, ran a Times of India ad that wished a rival app a happy birthday. It never named the rival and used the rival's colour (afaqs, 6 August 2026). In 2024 AJIO, a fashion shopping site, ran a satirical public apology in the Times of India to promote a sale (afaqs, 1 June 2024).
What your business can copy. Write one line that says sorry for something good about your business. Say a tailor says sorry that the queue before a wedding is long, because people like the stitching. The tailor is made up. Name no other business, and make sure the claim is true before you print it.
Read the original: afaqs, “Cleartrip appears to apologise to Swiggy and Zomato in cheeky ads”, 13 October 2026, read it here.
Asian Paints Sharad Shamman and Mon Jitey Nilo
What they did. Asian Paints made a Durga Pujo film called Mon Jitey Nilo for its Sharad Shamman. The report says this platform for the makers behind Kolkata's pandals is over forty years old. Gattu, the brand's mascot, returns with young friends who build their neighbourhood pandal while everyone asks if they will win. It is the brand's first film in an anime-inspired look, aimed at a younger crowd. Ogilvy North made it, and the report does not name a production house.
Why it works (our reading). A prize brand could have made an ad about the prize. This film is about the feeling that stays after it. The title means it won my heart, as the report explains. That is what an elderly man feels when he comes back after years and stops at the pandal. The anime look is likely a way to reach younger viewers who might skip a plain festival film.
What the report says about impact. The report gives no results. It is the only report we found. Its facts and quotes come from the brand and its agency, so read it as the brand's own account.
Done before in another industry. CaratLane, a jewellery brand, and BBH India made the Pujo film Maayer Aashirbaad. A proposal happens during Sindoor Khela on Doshomi, and music tells the story (afaqs, 8 September 2025). Both use a Bengal festival as the stage for a human story, not a product list.
What your business can copy. Take part in a local event your customers already love, and tell the story of the people who make it, not your own offer. Say a paint dealer in a small town helps with the colours of a festival lane. The dealer posts a short phone video of the painters at work. The dealer is made up.
Read the original: adgully, “Asian Paints brings back Gattu in new Pujo film 'Mon Jitey Nilo'”, 13 October 2026, read it here.
Men of Platinum and the character films
What they did. Men of Platinum is the men's jewellery brand of Platinum Guild International India. It made four films with cricketer Rohit Sharma and music composer Anirudh Ravichander, around the thought that lasting success is forged through character. Each man stars in two films about his own hard moments, such as being recognised, coming back after a loss and self-doubt. Famous Innovations conceptualised the campaign, which runs on digital, print and outdoor media through the festive season.
Why it works (our reading). Platinum is known as a metal that lasts, so the brand tells a story about what lasts in people. Honest stories of doubt and effort feel closer to a viewer than a plain jewellery shot. The films also speak to a newer buyer, since the brand says it wants platinum to matter to more men.
What the report says about impact. The reports give no results yet. Sujala Martis, director of consumer marketing at Platinum Guild International India, says the aim is to make platinum relevant to more men. That is an aim for the future, not a result.
Done before in another industry. In 2022 BEST, the Mumbai bus and electricity body, made the Pudhe Chala films. In them Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kapoor tell of the buses they rode in their young days. The reports say the stars, the director and the agency Siriti all waived their fees (Social Samosa, 8 April 2022). There the story is a star's real past, and here it is a hard moment.
What your business can copy. Ask two real customers or staff for one honest story about a hard moment and what it taught them. Film 30 seconds on a phone, link the story to one quality of what you sell, and get written consent before you post. Say a steel furniture maker shares a worker's story about learning a trade. The maker is made up.
Read the original: afaqs, “Rohit Sharma & Anirudh Ravichander explore what success takes in new Men of Platinum ad”, 13 October 2026, read it here.
Sparx and Greatest of Today
What they did. Sparx, the footwear brand of Relaxo Footwears, launched Greatest of Today, short for G.O.T., with actors Tamannaah and Lakshya Lalwani as brand ambassadors. It reworks the slang GOAT, which stands for greatest of all time. The new call is to make the most of the present and not wait for a defining moment. Mudra, part of BBDO Group India, made it for sneakers and sports shoes aimed at young buyers, on television, print, digital and outdoor.
Why it works (our reading). GOAT is already on young people's lips, so the brand borrows a phrase it does not have to teach. Changing one word turns a dream of fame into something a shopper can do today. The agency says the brief was to understand how Gen Z thinks about style, identity and ambition.
What the report says about impact. The reports give no results yet. Chetan Soni of Mudra says the campaign marks the start of a new identity for Sparx. That is a goal, not a result.
Done before in another industry. In 2025 redBus, a bus ticket app, took the everyday Hindi word Bas, which means stop. Each film ends with a line that links the word bus to the brand. Leo Burnett conceptualised it (MediaInfoline, 23 May 2025). Both borrow a word people already say and give it a brand twist.
What your business can copy. List the phrases your customers use about your product. Pick one, give it a short meaning of your own, and use it on your board, your bill and your posts for a month. Say a tailor hears customers say perfect fit and prints that phrase on every bag. The tailor is made up.
Read the original: afaqs, “Sparx launches 'Greatest of Today' campaign with Tamannaah and Lakshya”, 12 October 2026, read it here.
What the week tells us
- Most of this week's work starts from a true feeling, such as quarrelling neighbours, leave from work or self-doubt, and not from the product.
- Festivals and sale seasons are a stage. Diwali, Durga Pujo and the sale weeks gave each brand a reason to speak now.
- Reports give plans and quotes, not results. Copy an idea in small steps and measure it yourself.
Our monthly deep-dive is on Shiprocket Quick, and you will find it under keep reading below. Every earlier decode is on the Campaign decode hub. If you want a campaign idea shaped for your own business, our creative campaigns page shows how we think about it.
