Hit or Miss: The week in ads

Some weeks in advertising feel like a master class in range. This week's crop of campaigns spans the full spectrum: from Fevicol's quietly devastating cultural commentary on ambition and hierarchy, to Budweiser's beer-soaked celebration of football's communal madness. There's Prada reframing a Kolhapuri chappal through a luxury lens, Spotify turning an El Clásico jersey into a pop-culture statement, and OpenAI making a home loan feel almost painless. Royal Enfield leans into 125 years of road-worn legacy, JBL traces eight decades of sound, and Oakley hands Virat Kohli a pair of glasses that think.

Across categories, formats, and emotional registers, each film this week makes its case in a distinct voice. Together, they make a compelling argument that the best advertising doesn't just sell, it says something worth remembering.

Fevicol - “Kursi Pe Nazar”
Fevicol’s Kursi Pe Nazar campaign turns the everyday chair into a sharp cultural metaphor for ambition, hierarchy, and power in Indian life. The film shows people across different settings quietly eyeing someone else’s ‘kursi’, reflecting the universal desire for upward movement. Built on a simple, deeply observed insight, the ad uses Fevicol’s signature dry humour to capture these subtle power dynamics. Marking one of Piyush Pandey’s final scripts, the campaign blends legacy storytelling with a timeless, relatable human truth.

Flipkart - “SASA LELE is back!”
Flipkart’s SASA LELE 2.0 campaign, created with Kinnect India, builds on its earlier ‘double sale’ idea by pushing it further into a ‘Sale pe Sale’ proposition: stacked discounts, cashback, and offers layered on top of each other. Retaining its signature quirky tone, the campaign uses exaggerated, almost bizarre visuals and repetitive audio cues to amplify recall and create an earworm effect. By turning savings into a spectacle of ‘more and more’, the campaign taps into India’s collective excitement around big sale events, positioning Flipkart’s summer sale as an unmissable, high-energy shopping moment.




GoIbibo - “Make Travel Deals Great Again”
Goibibo’s latest campaign uses comedy and pop-culture parody to spotlight its core promise of travel deals, featuring Sunil Grover in his Donald Trump avatar. Built on his signature banter and exaggerated persona, the film escalates into absurd humour before brand ambassador Rishabh Pant steps in to deliver the punchline “Dealpanti” as the smarter way to book. Conceptualised by Restless@MagicCircle, the campaign leans into internet-style humour and relatability, positioning Goibibo as a fun, deal-driven platform that speaks the language of its digital-first audience.



ChatGPT - “Pinky vs Home Loan”
OpenAI’s latest campaign uses a home loan scenario to show how ChatGPT can simplify complex financial processes by offering quick, accessible guidance. The film follows a woman overwhelmed by traditional bank procedures before turning to ChatGPT for answers. By reframing a typically tedious experience into a simple query-response interaction, the campaign highlights how AI can reduce friction, democratise access to financial information, and make decision-making faster and more intuitive for everyday users.




Oakley - “Athletic Intelligence is Here”
Oakley and Meta’s latest campaign featuring Virat Kohli introduces AI-powered performance glasses as a new category of ‘athletic intelligence’, blending sport with wearable tech. The campaign offers a first-person view into Kohli’s training, match preparation, and behind-the-scenes routines, using the glasses’ hands-free AI to capture moments, deliver real-time insights, and enhance focus. By embedding technology seamlessly into an athlete’s workflow, the film positions the product as both a performance tool and a content creation device, reflecting the growing convergence of sport, data, and digital storytelling.

Budweiser - “Let It Pour ft. Erling Haaland & Jürgen Klopp”
Budweiser’s World Cup 2026 campaign, Let It Pour, starring Erling Haaland and Jürgen Klopp, celebrates the emotional release that defines football fandom. The film captures fans across the world gathering in bars, streets, and stadiums, building toward moments of collective celebration, with beer symbolising that shared outpouring of passion. Blending humour and spectacle, like Klopp dodging celebratory splashes, the campaign extends beyond film into fan experiences and merchandise, positioning Budweiser as central to the global, communal spirit of the World Cup.



Prada - “Made in India x Inspired by Kolhapuri Chappals”

Prada’s latest campaign featuring Kolhapuri-inspired sandals positions the footwear within a high-fashion, minimalist aesthetic, highlighting craftsmanship, form, and materiality over overt storytelling. Shot in a clean, editorial style, the visuals focus on silhouettes, textures, and movement, framing the sandals as part of a refined, global luxury wardrobe. By placing a traditionally rooted design within a contemporary fashion context, the campaign underscores Prada’s approach of reinterpreting heritage-inspired elements through a modern, design-led lens.




Spotify - Barcelona FC x Olivia Rodrigo
FC Barcelona’s latest Spotify collaboration turns its El Clásico kit into a cultural campaign by replacing the sponsor logo with Olivia Rodrigo’s emblem, blending music, sport, and fashion into a single visual identity. The activation goes beyond the jersey, with coordinated drops, player shoots, and fan experiences that position the match as a global pop-culture moment rather than just a sporting event. By integrating an artist into match-day branding, the campaign reinforces Spotify’s strategy of turning football’s biggest stage into a platform for music-led storytelling and cultural crossover.



Royal Enfield - "Heritage Collection"
Royal Enfield’s Heritage Collection campaign, marking 125 years of the brand, leans heavily into nostalgia and legacy, using archival-inspired visuals and design cues to celebrate its evolution. The film foregrounds iconic elements like the historic ‘Made Like a Gun’ tagline and classic insignia, blending past and present into a unified narrative. Rather than focusing on products alone, the campaign positions Royal Enfield as a cultural symbol of craftsmanship and authenticity, turning its long history into the central storytelling device.



JBL - “80 Years of Powering Voices”
JBL’s 80th anniversary campaign centres on a commemorative film that celebrates eight decades of sound through a legacy-driven narrative, blending archival cues with contemporary visuals. Rather than focusing on specific products, the film highlights the brand’s role across music, cinema, and live culture, reinforcing its identity as a long-standing enabler of authentic, ‘unfiltered’ sound experiences. Positioned as part of a broader anniversary push, the ad frames JBL not just as a tech brand, but as a cultural force shaping how generations experience sound.