Hit or Miss: The week in ads

The week that was, belonged to the bold and the funny. From Anupam Kher and Boman Irani turning a restaurant bill into a full-blown brawl, to Zlatan Ibrahimović claiming he was "born ready" for AI-powered smart glasses, the best work of the week leaned hard into humour, nostalgia, and storytelling that had something to say beyond the product. 

Indian brands played close to the heart, with Parle-G finding quiet poetry in Rath Yatra and Flipkart making self-love feel genuinely accessible at ninety-nine rupees. Anthropic let a filmmaker imagine what life with Claude could look like, and the internet decided it wanted exactly that. Uber addressed something real without making it feel like a corporate obligation. Candyman handed the brief to a comedian and trusted him with it. Different categories, different tones, but the same underlying craft. Here are the ads worth your attention this week.

District - “Anupam Kher & Boman Irani introduce District Splitpay”

District by Zomato has launched ‘District Splitpay’, a new in-app feature that lets diners split restaurant bills and pay only their share directly at the table. To promote the feature, the brand has released a humorous campaign starring Boman Irani and Anupam Kher, who turn the familiar argument over who should pay the bill into an exaggerated physical tussle. The campaign highlights a common social pain point of group dining before introducing Splitpay as a simple solution that eliminates awkward calculations and payment reminders. Users can divide the bill equally or customize individual contributions, with each diner also eligible for cashback on their payment.

Flipkart - “Fall in love with Flipkart Beauty!”

Flipkart has rolled out a new campaign to promote its Beauty sale, offering beauty and skincare products starting at ₹99. Built around the tagline, "Now everyone will fall in love with themselves when they get beauty products in their budget on Flipkart," the ad celebrates affordable self-care through a series of light-hearted moments. It features women admiring themselves in mirrors across different everyday settings, symbolizing self-love and confidence made possible by accessible beauty products. Through this simple visual narrative, Flipkart positions its Beauty category as an affordable destination where consumers can indulge in premium beauty and skincare without stretching their budgets.

Parle-G - “Rath Yatra”

Parle-G has unveiled a heartwarming campaign for Rath Yatra, celebrating the quiet acts of love that make family traditions meaningful. Centred on the thought, "Genius wahi jo auron ki khushi mein paye apni khushi," the film highlights simple yet heartfelt moments, showing how everyday gestures strengthen familial bonds. By focusing on selfless acts of care and togetherness during the festival, the campaign reinforces Parle-G's long-standing association with warmth, tradition, and shared happiness.

Candyman - “Biswa Ka Tadka”

ITC's Candyman Tadka Masala Jelly has launched a new digital campaign featuring comedian and content creator Biswa Kalyan Rath to bring its signature chatpata flavour to life through humour. Set in a restaurant, the campaign sees Rath giving ordinary conversations an unexpected dubbing twist, mirroring the product's blend of sweet kaccha aam jelly and tangy masala. By translating its flavour proposition into entertaining, relatable content, the brand aims to connect with younger, digital-first audiences while reinforcing the nostalgic appeal of raw mango and masala. The campaign is being rolled out across social and digital platforms as part of Candyman's creator-led marketing strategy.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZxAqqdNTnw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Anthropic - “Life With Claude”

Anthropic's Claude has gone viral with ‘Life with Claude’, a cinematic short film created by tech entrepreneur and content creator Roberto P. Nickson (RPN) that imagines a future where AI handles complex digital work while people focus on their personal lives. In the film, Nickson casually instructs Claude to build a fully responsive website from a design mockup, analyze Instagram performance to develop a content strategy, and organize his desktop before heading out for a workout. Rather than showcasing AI through a technical demo, the video presents Claude as a proactive creative collaborator, resonating widely for its polished storytelling and aspirational vision of AI-powered productivity.

Uber - “New To Town”

Uber has launched a new campaign highlighting its ‘Women riders can now choose women drivers‘ feature, designed to give female users the option of being matched with women drivers. The film follows women who are new to a city, showing how the feature offers greater comfort, confidence, and peace of mind while travelling. By addressing a common concern around safety and trust, the campaign positions Uber as a platform that empowers both women riders and women driver-partners. Through relatable storytelling, the ad underscores Uber's commitment to making everyday travel more inclusive, secure, and reassuring for women.

Oakley Meta - “Zlatan Is Born Ready”

Oakley Meta has unveiled "Zlatan Is Born Ready," a campaign introducing its new AI-powered smart glasses with football icon Zlatan Ibrahimović at the centre. Playing on Zlatan's trademark confidence and larger-than-life persona, the film showcases how the glasses seamlessly blend Oakley's performance eyewear with Meta's hands-free AI capabilities, including voice assistance, photo and video capture, music playback, and real-time connectivity. Rather than focusing on technical specifications, the campaign uses humour and Zlatan's charisma to position the product as a natural extension of an active lifestyle, reinforcing the message that some people (and some technology) are simply "born ready."