18 Diwali Marketing Campaigns and What Each Did

Diwali marketing campaigns in India work when a brand ties its product to something people already do at the festival: gifting sweets, cleaning the home, travelling to family, or supporting local shops. The 18 campaigns below, from Cadbury, HP, Swiggy, Coca-Cola, Amazon, TATA Starbucks, Tanishq, Zepto and others, are each documented in named trade coverage, listed in the sources at the end of this page.

Updated October 13, 2026.

Which Diwali marketing campaigns are covered here?

This page covers 18 Diwali campaigns from Indian and global brands, sorted by what each campaign was built around. The table gives the brand, the campaign, and the idea in one line.

Which Diwali campaigns supported local shops and family gatherings?

Two campaigns in this list built the Diwali moment around a place: the neighbourhood shop for Cadbury, and a Starbucks store for TATA Starbucks.

Cadbury: "This is not just a Cadbury ad"

Cadbury launched "This is not just a Cadbury ad" to boost sales at local stores that had been hit during the pandemic. According to Social Samosa's 2022 Diwali roundup, the campaign used technology and AI to build a hyper-personalized ad in which local stores were featured against the product category for specific pin codes in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Indore, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. Each version named stores in the viewer's own pin code.

TATA Starbucks: #MeriSpecialJagah

Edelman India created TATA Starbucks' 2024 Diwali campaign, #MeriSpecialJagah, which means "my special place," according to Campaign Brief Asia (Oct 16, 2024). The brand film follows a young man named Ninad who moves a Diwali gathering for unexpected relatives from his parents' home to a Starbucks, to give his mother a break from the kitchen.

The campaign was a 360 integrated effort with limited-edition products. Campaign Brief Asia lists a Saffron Pistachio Latte, a Saffron Masala Chai, festive treats made with Bombay Sweet Shop (Gulab Jamun Trifle, Khubani Barfi Bar and White Choco Kaju Nankhatai), and gift hampers.

Which Diwali campaigns addressed social issues?

Three campaigns in this list used Diwali to raise a social or environmental issue instead of a sales offer: Bajaj Allianz, Hitachi and HP.

Bajaj Allianz: "Unboxing with Chintu"

Bajaj Allianz ran a satirical campaign, "Unboxing with Chintu," aimed at people who practise and encourage child labour, and it highlighted the use of child labour in fireworks factories, according to Social Samosa.

Hitachi and HP

Hitachi launched a campaign in 2018 that reminded audiences to dispose of e-waste when families clean their homes before Diwali, because e-waste is hazardous to the environment. HP's 2018 film, created by Autumn Worldwide, showed local artisans who make diyas and how a small act of empathy can help them. Social Samosa documents both campaigns.

Which Diwali campaigns told family and community stories?

Four campaigns in this list told a story about a relationship: Vivo, Sabhyata, Coca-Cola and Swiggy.

• Vivo's 2018 #Photoofyourlife followed a father and daughter from despair to happiness through a photograph.
• Sabhyata, an ethnic wear brand, launched a 2019 Diwali film about the relationship between a daughter-in-law and a mother-in-law, featuring Jatin Sarna, Sheeba Chaddha and Anupriya Goenka.
• Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke this Diwali!" starred Ayushmann Khurrana and Anupriya Goenka, with Khurrana as a tenant away from home on Diwali.
• Swiggy's 2018 film showed a boy sharing Diwali sweets door to door and offering one to Swiggy's delivery partner.

Which Diwali campaigns thanked people who work during the festival?

Three campaigns in this list thanked people for their work: Amazon, Samsonite and Mankind Pharma.

Amazon's #DeliverTheLove film celebrated COVID warriors, was made by Amazon's in-house team, and starred Sheeba Chaddha. Samsonite's #DiwaliKaSafar reminded people to be thankful for those who cannot take a day off on Diwali, from flight attendants to cab drivers. Mankind Pharma's #SpreadingTheKindness told the story of a business owner who spread joy, met serious pandemic challenges, and found kindness in strangers. Social Samosa documents all three.

Which Diwali 2025 campaigns are the most recent examples?

Six campaigns from Diwali 2025 add the newest formats: family films, interactive sequels, quick-commerce humour and AI.

Cadbury: "Iss Diwali Meethe Mein Kuch Naya Ho Jaaye"

Cadbury's 2025 film shows a family coming together to share chocolate, and its message is that physical presence is what makes the festival special, Campaign Asia reported. It continues the brand's long run of Diwali campaigns, but replaces the earlier technology play with a family moment.

Tanishq: "India Wali Diwali"

Lowe Lintas India created Tanishq's "India Wali Diwali," which shows how a family living in Singapore reimagines Diwali abroad, per Campaign Asia. Storyboard18 covers the same campaign as Tanishq USA's version, so the film was aimed at Indian families overseas.

Swiggy Instamart: the "gold spoon" Dhanteras film

Swiggy Instamart's Dhanteras campaign with actor Sonakshi Sinha plays on the idiom "born with a silver spoon," with a character who carries a gold spoon throughout, and promotes the quick-commerce app's instant gold delivery, Storyboard18 reported.

Zepto: "Mithai Wars" 2025

After the 2024 "Make Soan Papdi Great Again" campaign, Zepto returned with a politically themed sequel, and Storyboard18 credits its interactive format for the campaign's appeal.

Coca-Cola and Google: "AI Festicons"

Coca-Cola and Google partnered on "AI Festicons," a campaign that blends technology and tradition to show how Diwali can be marketed in a new way, according to Campaign Asia.

Google India: "Lie for Love"

Google India's Diwali short shows a boy who lies about a party to impress a girl, only for Google tools to come to his rescue, exchange4media reported.

What should a brand copy from these Diwali campaigns?

A brand planning a Diwali campaign should copy three mechanisms from the campaigns above, based on what each source describes.

1. Tie the product to an action the audience already takes at Diwali. Hitachi connected e-waste to the pre-Diwali home clean, and TATA Starbucks connected its stores to the family gathering.
2. Put real, local detail on screen. Cadbury's pin-code version named stores in six cities, and Edelman India's TATA Starbucks film showed a specific menu of festive items.
3. Give the story a human at the centre. Swiggy, Amazon and Samsonite each put a person who serves others during Diwali in the frame.

The 2025 campaigns add a fourth: reach the audience where the festival is celebrated, including abroad, as Tanishq did, and on the apps where festive shopping now happens, as Swiggy Instamart and Zepto did. Most sources here describe creative ideas and do not report sales results, so treat the lessons as observations, not proof of performance.

Sources

• Social Samosa, "Take a trip down memory lane with some of the favourite Diwali campaigns over the years," Oct 21, 2022
• Campaign Brief Asia, "New TATA Starbucks film via Edelman India invites Indian families to celebrate Diwali with them," Oct 16, 2024
• Campaign Asia, "Festive campaigns lighting up Diwali 2025," Oct 16, 2025
• Storyboard18, "Mast or Meh: Swiggy, Zepto, OPPO, Titan and more," Oct 18, 2025
• exchange4media, "Ads that lit up Diwali 2025," Oct 20, 2025

Related coverage: The Indian Brand AI Visibility Index 2026 measures how Indian brands appear in AI engines. Chocolate Wars: Hershey vs Cadbury Fans covers the Cadbury brand-equity story.