How different brands lit up Diwali in their own way

India holds her festivals with great care.

And brands hold them even dearer. India is the land of many people, and we have many festivals. In fact, the same festival is celebrated with different names, and sometimes even at different times of the year.

That being said, Diwali is nation-wide. It is something that unites all Indians. Trains booked to their max limits, sold out flight tickets and extra office leaves put in – Diwali is a big deal.

And whenever it’s something so big that captivates such a large audience – brands also want a share of the pie. For brands, the story is to attract. And for consumers it is to spend. Bonanza offers and Diwali sales are run all over the country, but there’s something more.

Diwali is at the heart of the festive season. A golden opportunity for both brands and consumers.

Let’s know how brands lit up Diwali in their own way, and how branding and festivals work wonders for branding.

Emotions and festivals

What stands out in Diwali are the ads.

Oh so many ads. They convey that Diwali isn’t only about gorging on sweets and bursting crackers – rather it brings a lot more than that.

People go to their hometowns, local businesses peak, people gather – gifts, grandeur and a gala celebration.

There’s sweets, there’s crackers, there’s clothes, there’s holidays and above all lies the spirit of Diwali. Now with all these things, come a lot of emotions. That’s what brands capitalize on.

Mom opening the door after you come home after a long train journey, the society gully cricket gang reuniting after a year of busy-busy work life, the heavenly sweets that are purchased from the same local dukaan on the nukkad.

Whether it’s the hot cup of mom’s chai just as the sun rises, deciding the cracker budget, or rangolis and diyas – there are a lot of emotions in a festival. As humans, we’re sentimental creatures.

It’s these emotions that companies capitalize upon, connecting either their business offering or their brand image to the product itself.

Brands and emotions

We’re humans. We feel a LOT.

There’s a theory that there’s only 27 emotions.

It’s 28 for us Indians. The festive season being the 28th.

And festive emotions are all about joy, happiness, nostalgia etc. So, brands come up with ads that capture these emotions. Like Crompton came up with an ad wherein they’re installing lights for old age homes and government schools.

We’ll break down the Crompton ad later in this blog (it’s marketing magic right there).

CSR, branding and festivals

Why suddenly CSR? Because for us emotional homo sapiens, CSR works like magic. Brands then move on to use (or manipulate, whatever you call it) consumer psychology and their ads become focused towards showing that they care.

It’s not that companies completely do not care – but even their caring is motivated. No matter how good a company’s CSR is, in the end it is focused towards raking in the dough – maximizing profits.

And what better way to do it other than getting an emotional, sentimental ad run?

That being said, let’s move onto how different brands have conquered Diwali in their own ways:

Different brands, different celebrations

All brands have something up their sleeve when it comes to festive ads. After all, it’s the best time for consumers to shop. With the many sales and offers come the many ads.

And different brands pick different things to center their ads upon. Let’s look at some of the best ads of all time that stayed with the audiences, helping brands cement their status.

SRK’s Vocal4Local Cadbury ad

Cadbury hit it out of the park with this one. Actually, Ogilvy did.

The marketing maestros came up with an AI-assisted ad with SRK in it. That too in the middle of a lockdown. That’s not easy to pull off.

The ad gives Diwali a natural outlook. It conveys that you can buy your shoes, your sweets, your new specs – all

from local stores. The ad isn’t focused on the product – it is focused on the feels. The feels when you use local store products in Diwali, and help those vendors celebrate a happy Diwali too.

SRK’s charm is intertwined with the message of the ad – get your goods from local vendors and give them a good Diwali too.

Crompton’s CSR bullseye

Crompton is the go-to electricals brand for us Indians.

But this time they didn’t only prove that they can manufacture fans – their super-creative ad also garnered some fans (non-mechanical, living beings).

Their ad had a strong opening – a couple of elderly folk playing carrom. But they can’t perform well, because the bulb constantly flickers. Then comes an orphanage’s shot, wherein an orphan can’t click good photos of himself because he can only rely on moonlight for his lighting.

After which we have a public-school student struggling to read in the low light conditions of her classroom.

These kinds of situations evoke all the emotions that one needs to feel all sad-sad. And then comes the secret (main) ingredient – CSR. Crompton then shows pictures of employees setting up lights and fans (their 2 main offerings) at these 3 locations.

This realism infuses emotions into the mix, making you feel what the actors are portraying. That’s marketing at its best – emotionally-driven and sort of assuring in many aspects.

Saregama’s pitch perfect ad

Saregama with its to-the-point marketing endeavors always wins the heart of audiences.

This time, it was more than simplicity. It was all about depth and a whole lot of marketing genius. The Diwali ad put forth by Saregama showcasing its flagship product (the Carvaan) includes a man and his best friend (their four-pawed best friend).

Owing to Diwalis and firecrackers, the best friend has a problem to be navigated.

He buries his head under the bed, hoping that the noise would eventually stop. Then, the camera follows the man closing all windows and then tunes into Kishore Kumar’s famous ‘Hum hain rahi pyar ke.’

The moment the tune starts, the dog races towards the owner, and he hugs him. This is the big picture.

The small details include the last shot wherein the radio is shown as a gift from the daughter of the couple, with a small card wishing them Happy Diwali. This instills that the radio can be gifted to elders as a gift, paired with the tagline showcasing that it has 5000 evergreen songs.

It is quite simple yet means a lot. The way the dog goes into the arms of its owner once the song starts, the way the silence after closing the windows is filled by the song echoing in the room. That’s product placement with a dash of emotion and a whole lot of marketing genius.

The ad effortlessly connected with audiences, giving the product a soothing yet impactful appeal.

Conclusion

There you go.

Branding with a touch of Indian masala with a serving of emotions and sentiment on the side – the perfect dish for marketing to connect flawlessly.

We went through how different brands made the most of Diwali, breaking down their ads into marketing pieces.

We gave you a sneak peek at what goes into the marketing meetings in conference rooms at God knows what time in the night (ideas do come out of the blue). This pretty much wraps up today’s blog.

Want to know more about branding and marketing in detail? Let’s connect!