Hit or Miss: The week in ads

This week in advertising brought together some of the industry’s favourite ingredients: big celebrities, sharp cultural insights, familiar emotions and brands looking for new ways to tell their stories. Vi signalled a fresh direction with Shah Rukh Khan, while Foxtale also turned to the superstar to bring its skincare philosophy to life. Levi’s, meanwhile, used Alia Bhatt and the idea of a mixtape to explore the many influences that shape personal style and identity.

Plenty was happening beyond celebrity-led storytelling too. Feeding India put the spotlight on the nutrition behind young athletes’ ambitions, Kissht found humour in Sachin Tendulkar’s hiccups, and Wispr Flow made a case for the personality we lose when we move from speaking to typing. Tic Tac brought music to the streets, Sony LIV turned the cricket-versus-work struggle into a comic showdown, while Gulf Pride challenged the idea that ambition should be limited by engine size. From school-day nostalgia and financial lessons to Zandu’s very modern peedas and a LEGO-Pokémon face-off, here are the campaigns that stood out this week.

Vi - “Vi is changing”
Vi has unveiled a refreshed brand identity, evolving its familiar visual particle into a dynamic 3D sphere that is rounder, fuller, and more energetic, signalling the telecom brand’s shift towards a more future-ready positioning. The new identity is built around Vi’s ambition to move beyond being a connectivity provider towards becoming a technology partner delivering richer experiences and possibilities. Alongside the refresh, Vi has brought on Shah Rukh Khan as the face of its upcoming campaign, ‘Vi badal raha hai… tayaar rahiye’. Positioned as a teaser, the campaign uses Khan to embody the energy, ambition, and optimism of Vi’s next phase, with the larger brand transformation set to roll out in the coming weeks.

Levi’s - “Alia’s Mixtape”
Levi’s has launched the second chapter of its ‘Behind Every Original’ platform in India, titled ‘Many Ways, One Original’, featuring Alia Bhatt. The campaign explores how different experiences, influences, memories and perspectives shape an individual’s sense of identity and personal style. Inspired by a mixtape, the film follows Bhatt through a subway corridor, street corner and neighbourhood pub, using different sounds and moments to reflect the many sides of a person. It also showcases Levi’s varied fits, silhouettes and pieces, highlighting how they can be styled differently across moods and occasions. The campaign reinforces the brand’s focus on individuality and the idea that there is no single way to be original.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcuzrA7tBVV/?igsi=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==


Foxtale - “Works from the source, doesn't stop at the surface”
Foxtale has unveiled ‘Works from the Source, Doesn’t Stop at the Surface’, featuring Shah Rukh Khan, to introduce its skincare philosophy around addressing skin concerns at their source rather than simply adding more products to the surface. The film challenges the idea that skincare is about piling on layers, positioning Foxtale’s formulations to work deeper and help reveal the glow already within. Khan lends his presence to the brand’s larger thought that skincare should not create a new version of you, but help uncover what is already there. The campaign brings this philosophy together with Foxtale’s proposition of ‘Let Your Glow Through.’



Zomato x Feeding India - “Feed Their Greatness”
Feeding India by Eternal Foundation has launched a new film for National Sports Day that shines a light on the often-overlooked role of nutrition in sporting ambition. Set across disciplines including gymnastics, table tennis, hockey and boxing, the film follows young athletes as they train and push their limits, while highlighting the nutritious meals that fuel them away from the field. The campaign frames food not merely as physical fuel but as the foundation that enables children to show up, persevere, and pursue their ambitions. Through the athletes’ stories, Feeding India reinforces its mission of building a malnutrition-free India, where children have the nourishment needed to pursue their dreams—whether in sport or beyond.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcnFcC5zdtQ/?igsi=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Kissht - “When Sachin gets the hiccups, you know Kissht's doing something right!”
Kissht has launched ‘Loans Without Any Hiccups’, featuring cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who has joined the digital lending platform as its brand ambassador for three years. Built around a humorous premise, the campaign shows Tendulkar getting hiccups every time a loan is approved on the Kissht app, turning the hiccups into a playful metaphor for the sheer frequency of approvals. The films highlight Kissht’s promise of loan approvals within five minutes, speed, simplicity, and zero paperwork, with the campaign rolling out across Instagram, YouTube, and other digital platforms as the brand looks to strengthen consumer recall and expand its national presence.

Wispr Flow - “Bologe Toh Tum Dikhoge”
Wispr Flow has launched its first India brand film, ‘Bologe Toh Tum Dikhoge’, conceptualised and produced by Move Over, Only Much Louder’s creative agency. The campaign explores how people often edit themselves while typing (rewriting, shortening, or second-guessing messages) but express more personality, emotion, and spontaneity when they speak. Through everyday situations involving long-distance friends, newlyweds, and a father watching his son play cricket, the film positions voice as a more authentic form of communication. The narrative connects this insight to Wispr Flow’s AI-powered voice-to-text platform, which uses contextual understanding to turn spoken words into text while supporting more than 100 languages.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcc8g5oP7vX/?igsi=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==


Tic Tac - “Refresh Your Vibe”
Tic Tac has launched “Refresh Your Vibe 3.0” in collaboration with music creator Yashraj Mukhate, marking the fourth consecutive year of their partnership. The campaign introduces “Tic Tac Go,” an Indian adaptation of the brand’s global signature tune, using music to turn everyday monotony into moments of self-expression. The film follows tired, routine-bound people whose moods change when the Tic Tac Vibe Van, with Mukhate performing on its upper deck, rolls through Mumbai. As people join the van, singing and dancing, the campaign builds towards a shared celebration, positioning music as the spark that helps people break out of the everyday and refresh their vibe.


Sony LIV - “Rukawat kitni bhi aaye, yahan na khel rukega na entertainment”
Sony LIV has roped in actor-comedian Sunil Grover for its latest cricket campaign, ‘Har Screen Par Cricket, Sony Ke Saath’, where he plays ‘Plan Man’, a character who helps cricket fans find ways to keep watching live matches despite work commitments. The campaign pits Plan Man against ‘Ban Man’, who tries to stop employees from following the game at work. Using humour, the campaign taps into the familiar struggle of balancing office responsibilities with the urge to stay updated on cricket, while promoting live cricket coverage across Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcdv9avI7M5/?igsi=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Gulf Pride - “Kuch Behad Kar”
Gulf Oil Lubricants India has unveiled ‘Kuch Behad Kar’, a new positioning platform for its flagship motorcycle oil brand Gulf Pride, featuring brand ambassador MS Dhoni. Built around the insight “Sapna CC dekh kar nahi aata”, the campaign focuses on young Indians whose ambitions go beyond the resources or machines they have, spotlighting riders who push modest, lower-CC motorcycles to achieve more. The platform links this ambition to Gulf Pride’s Oxybitor technology and its promise of improved pick-up and engine performance. Conceptualised and directed by Curativity, the 360-degree campaign spans TV, digital, social, retail and on-ground activations, with initiatives including #BehadStories and a partnership with MTV Hustle Season 5.


MMTC-PAMP - “Purity, Trust & Responsible Recycling”
MMTC-PAMP has appointed Sidharth Malhotra as its brand ambassador for the new integrated campaign ‘Purest And More’, highlighting the brand’s offerings beyond physical gold and silver. Set around a wedding celebration, the campaign film features Malhotra across relatable family moments while introducing products and services including 24K 999.9+ gold and silver coins and bars, digital gold and silver, gold recycling, online purchases, and assured buyback. The campaign aims to reinforce MMTC-PAMP’s focus on purity, trust, and convenience while making precious-metal ownership more relevant to both seasoned investors and younger, digitally connected consumers. It will run across TV, digital, social media, print, retail, and e-commerce.


Zandu - “Undo With Zandu”
Zandu Balm, from the house of Emami, has launched #UndoWithZandu, a Gen Z-focused campaign that gives a new language to everyday “peedas” or discomforts. The campaign moves beyond traditional physical pain to spotlight modern frustrations such as screen-time headaches, tech neck, doomscrolling fatigue, burnout, overthinking, and Monday blues. Set in a surreal world called ‘Peedaland’, the film follows youngsters dealing with these contemporary aches and annoyances before a vivacious problem-solver helps them “undo” their peeda with Zandu Balm. Targeting 16–28-year-olds, the campaign combines humour and cultural relevance while retaining the brand’s core promise of quick relief.

Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC - “Lessons for Life”
Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund (ABSLMF), in collaboration with AGENCY09, has launched ‘The Comeback Morcha’ for Teacher’s Day, using AI to bring familiar classroom objects such as chalks, calculators, rulers, protractors, markers, and blackboards to life. The playful rally revisits the lessons these objects once represented and connects them to financial habits in adulthood, with planning becoming planning for financial goals and classroom discipline translating into consistency through SIPs. Rather than simply playing on school nostalgia, the campaign encourages adults to reflect on whether they have carried those lessons into their financial lives, positioning classroom wisdom as a foundation for better planning, investing and long-term financial decisions.

 LEGO - “Terry Crews vs. Finn Wolfhard”
LEGO and Pokémon have teamed up for a promotional short film featuring Finn Wolfhard and Terry Crews, who face off in a Pokémon battle using LEGO figures of Charizard and Jigglypuff. The film showcases LEGO’s new SMART Play technology, which adds interactive elements to the builds and allows children to engage with the toys in a more social, connected way. Wolfhard, a longtime fan of both LEGO and Pokémon, described the collaboration as “the best of both worlds” and said filming the battle with Crews was a fun, light-hearted acting project. The campaign also spotlights the new LEGO Pokémon range and its interactive play experience.