Diwali was a blast this year, both offline and online. Major releases at the box office coupled with the long weekend of festivities led to many brands leveraging the best they could. Local stores and malls fiercely competed with ecommerce majors to woo customers with heavy Diwali discounts.
Brands also leveraged digital to make it a really memorable Diwali, but each in their own special ways. Here, we revisit the best of 2014 Diwali videos and ad films with touching themes:
1. PepsiCo #GharWaliDiwali
Pepsi and Kurkure released a 7-minute short film celebrating the joy of returning home for Diwali. Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and starring National Award-winning actress Geetanjali Thapa as a young working mother living in another city, the film begins with Geetanjali frequently reaching out to her parents for support. She consults her dad for financial advice and tips on making a bird feeder, checks recipes with her mother, and seeks relationship guidance from her, using video calls, social media, and quick phone calls.
Her parents who are always happy to lend an ear or offer a word of comfort, however are disappointed when she declines to come home for Diwali the second year in a row. What ensues is a barrage of calls from Geetanjali to her parents, which receive no response.
With her ‘reliable helpline’ shut off, a lonely Geetanjali proceeds to make laddoos on her own, but soon realises that she should chuck the Diwali plans with her friends and visit her parents instead. What happens next reminds us that the best Diwali is always the one spent at home. Read more about the campaign.
2. KitKat #MyDiwaliBreak
KitKat India’s 4-minute Diwali Music Video features a lonely astronaut out in space missing her family back in India. The beautiful story is set inside a spacecraft where we can see her missing her family and looking outside when the spacecraft moves over India. She is seen touching through a softboard containing photos and other memories of her loved ones, while a song with Hindi lyrics relating to the scenario starts playing alongside.
Finally on Diwali day, she recieves a package from home with a KitKat inside it. While she takes a bite from the floating KitKat, she peeps out to look at the earth again. This time the whole of India is brightly lit up, bringing a big smile to her face. Read more about the campaign.
3. Cadbury Celebrations #LeChaloKhushiyan
Cadbury Celebrations paid a tribute to the Indian Army, the brave heroes who forgo their Diwali celebrations so that we can enjoy ours. In a 50-second television commercial, we see how a surprise visit by a family to their army son, is met with absolute happiness. It starts with four army men sitting together while one is sitting away disappointed. One of them explains to the others that this guy’s calls to his home are going unanswered since the morning.
As he sits sulking away, a girl comes in and whispers ‘happy diwali bhaiyya’ into his ear. The surprised guy turns around and is overjoyed when he sees his parents at the door. The father gifts a box of Cadbury Celebrations to his friend, which is shared among all of them, while a caption reads “Iss Diwali khushiyan le chalo”. Read more about the campaign.
4. Tanishq ‘Sunehri Diwali’
Tanishq launched a 1-minute ad film ‘Sunehri Diwali’ to highlight that sentiments and emotions are bigger than the size of the gifts this Diwali with the help of a mother-son bond. Although promotional, the Diwali ad film is a winner in terms of evoking the right amount of emotion and still not looking like an advertisement.
A happy woman is seen being gifted a big beautiful Tanishq neck-piece from her husband. Her son, who enters the room with a small Tanishq gift, sees this and draws back wondering what his mother will think about his small gift. But, nevertheless, he gifts it to her saying it is from his Diwali bonus. The mother played by actress Tanvi Azmi, is now all emotional and goes on to wear the smaller necklace gifted by him, while a voice over goes, ‘Chota Ho Ya Bada, Is Diwali Ko Sone Se Sajae’. Read more about the campaign.
5. Titan #ThisDiwaliGiftTime
Titan’s proposition this Diwali was to urge consumers to spend time with their loved ones. Starring Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin and Telugu actor Akhil Akkineni, the 1-minute ad film is set in a city close to the Eiffel Tower. A happy Kalki is staring away into the brightly lit horizon set against the Eiffel Tower, from her terrace top and enjoying the Diwali celebrations happening close by. She is soon joined by Akhil who notices the celebrations and the Eiffel tower and proceeds to capture it on his mobile phone.
As he continues to click a picture of her, Kalki gets miffed and asks him what she must do to get his undivided attention. He says she gifted him the phone, to which she replies with the question, would he gift her his time if she were to gift him time? The confusion clears soon when Akhil realises she has slipped a watch onto his wrist and he says yes. The commercial ends with the line, ‘lamho ka taufa, apno ke liye’. Read more about the campaign.
6. Hero ISL ‘Yeh Diwali Football wali’
Set up to promote football in a cricket-crazy country, the Hero Indian Super League is well on its way making India a top footballing nation in the world. Blending football with Diwali, the league released a one-minute promotional video called ‘Yeh Diwali Football wali’ featuring international footballers like Del Piero, Luis Garcia, Pires, Ljungberg, Silvestre, Trezeguet, Capdevila and David James.
Set against the grounds in front of a brightly lit palace, the film features these popular footballers displaying their football fireworks. The footballers are seen performing some amazing antics like kicking the ball amidst crackers and shooting the ball through fire hoops.
One of the footballer also shouts ‘Yeh Diwali Football wali’, from which the film gets its name. Read more about the campaign.
Which one is your favourite? Do share in the comments below.