Is Indian advertising trading depth for viral moments?

A meme drops on a Friday morning and goes viral by the afternoon. By evening, three brands have already jumped on it. The conversation already has moved on the next day. This is the new rhythm of Indian advertising, where cultural moments have the shelf life of fresh produce and brands are racing to stay relevant in real-time. Quick, topical campaigns have become the currency of attention, helping brands feel present, responsive, and plugged into the zeitgeist.

But somewhere in this rush to be part of every conversation, a question lingers. What happens to the brand stories that need time to breathe? The kind that build emotional worlds, create lasting meaning, and etch themselves into memory? As social media rewards speed and relatability over contemplation, the industry finds itself at a crossroads, redefining what ‘impact’ actually means in advertising.

This isn't just a creative preference debate. It's about how brands navigate an ecosystem where attention is fragmented, media costs are soaring, and the pressure to deliver measurable ROI has never been higher. Creative leaders across agencies are grappling with this tension, trying to balance the need for viral relevance with the timeless art of brand building.

The creative workflow challenge

Deepshikha Bharadwaj, National Lead for Media Strategy at Schbang, acknowledges that the creative workflow does get disrupted by the constant influx of real-time opportunities. But she believes this is where the expertise of Associate Creative Directors and National Creative Directors becomes crucial, especially when evaluating what's actually relevant for the brand. The key, according to her, is filtering through the noise. Maybe there are 10 trending moments at any given time, but the real question is whether they align with the brand's communication and messaging, and whether they're truly relatable to the target audience.

Beyond topical execution lies a deeper concern that Bharadwaj addresses head-on. Has the creative agency evolved more into interpretation and storytelling, or is it being pushed toward performance marketing execution? She's candid about the trade-offs, noting that there's a significant percentage now dedicated to performance marketing, driven by the need to deliver measurable ROI.

"Storytelling has taken a bit of a back seat. We cannot make 60-seconders or 90-seconders now. We have to stick to a 10 or 15-seconder and communicate our story within that," she explains. This shift has impacted the entire storytelling process. With brands increasingly present on e-commerce platforms and performance-driven channels, the emphasis has moved to offers, conversions, and numbers. "Performance has taken the front seat, and it has to be very to the point, very number-driven, or led by an offer. So storytelling has to take a back seat there."

The relationship between depth and dynamism

Vaibhav Pandit, Founder & Creative Director at ADbhoot, offers a more optimistic take on this evolution. For him, the rise of topical advertising isn't a creative detour but a reflection of how audiences live today. Attention spans are shrinking, conversations are fluid, and relevance has a shorter shelf life. But that doesn't mean long-term storytelling has lost its place. He argues it's more important than ever because while topical campaigns create immediate connection, it's the larger positioning that builds lasting meaning.

"A brand's larger positioning campaign builds meaning; it's what roots the brand, defines its tone, and creates emotional connect. Topical campaigns, on the other hand, keep that meaning alive in everyday communication, making the brand feel present and responsive," Pandit explains. He draws an analogy that feels particularly apt. "It's like any relationship. Your positioning campaign is the heart-to-heart that builds trust; your topical campaign is the quick 'hi' that keeps the bond alive. One creates depth, the other keeps it dynamic."

The real craft, according to Pandit, lies in knowing when to pause for the conversation and when to wave in passing without losing your voice in either. "That's where smart, hybrid, holistic agencies will win, by striking a balance between speed and substance, and relevance and resonance." It's a view that positions topical and long-form storytelling not as opposing forces but as complementary elements of a larger brand strategy. One builds the foundation, the other keeps it alive in culture.

The myth of shrinking attention spans

Neville Shah, CCO at FCB Kinnect, brings a refreshingly contrarian perspective to the table. He challenges the notion that clients or audiences are solely responsible for the shift toward shorter content. According to him, there isn't a single brand manager who explicitly demands their message be delivered in six seconds. The insistence on short-form content has less to do with shrinking attention spans and more to do with how media is distributed and priced.

Shah breaks down the mechanics of it. YouTube has decided that if you need to buy a pre-roll and want your entire ad to play without a skip option, it has to be only 20 seconds. That decision is made by the distributor, not the brand. Similarly, during IPL broadcasts, only 20-second ads are played because that's what the channel has decided based on pricing. The cost of longer slots makes them prohibitively expensive for most brands. "IPL pe agar aapko poora ad break lena hai, toh aap ek hi baar chala paoge, uske baar P&L pack up karke ghar chale. Kyonki wo hai cost," he explains. The pressure to deliver frequency and reach within budget constraints naturally forces shorter formats.

Shah also pushes back hard against the idea that attention spans are universally shrinking. People are consuming shorter content on mobile devices, yes, but connected TV behaviour is very different. The viewing patterns on television and streaming platforms show that audiences still engage with long-form content when it's compelling. He points to the phenomenon of binge-watching as clear evidence. There was a time when everyone felt inundated with content, worried about missing out on every show and finale. But audiences have now settled into their own rhythms, understanding that content isn't going anywhere and they can watch it in their own time. They've also auto-adjusted to their own viewing patterns, knowing exactly when and how they want to consume longer content.

"Attention spans reducing is 100% true. But what is also true is that people are now curating what they want to watch because they have a choice," Shah says. He recalls how in the Doordarshan era, when one movie played on Saturday evening with countless breaks, everyone watched everything including the breaks because there was no choice. Now the dynamic has completely flipped. Audiences have the capacity to watch movies and binge entire shows. "We are binge-watching shows. How can that exist along with reels? It is because we are choosing what we want to watch."

For Shah, the issue isn't about audience capacity but about content quality and strategic thinking. "If they don't want to watch your content, that is your problem. You can't blame the market for it." He also rejects the notion that shorter formats are inherently easier or harder to execute. It depends entirely on the brief. Some messages land perfectly in ten seconds, like a joke that doesn't need elaboration. Others need time to build a narrative. "If you have a narrative that requires time, it requires time. If you don't have a narrative that requires time, then you shouldn't take the time," he says. His preference? Writing feature films. But the reality of the industry means working within the formats that brands can afford and platforms will support.

A redefinition of impact

What emerges from these conversations is a picture of an industry in flux, responding to multiple forces at once. The shift toward topical, real-time campaigns isn't necessarily a decline in creative ambition. It's a pragmatic response to changing consumption patterns, media economics, and the platforms that mediate how brands reach audiences. The pressure of performance marketing, the cost structures of media buying, and the nature of social media distribution have all converged to create an environment where agility often trumps long-form narrative.

But within this landscape, there's still room for depth. Long-form storytelling isn't dead. It's just sharing space with a new kind of creative agility, and the most successful brands are learning to code-switch between the two. They understand that a well-crafted brand film can build equity that lasts for years, creating emotional territory that topical campaigns can then activate in real-time. The topical work keeps the brand visible and culturally relevant, while the deeper storytelling work creates the meaning that makes that relevance matter.

The challenge for agencies and brands alike is to navigate this landscape without losing sight of what makes advertising meaningful in the first place. It's about recognizing that different formats serve different purposes, and that both have value in the overall brand ecosystem. A 90-second film that beautifully articulates brand purpose and a perfectly timed topical tweet can coexist in the same strategy, each playing its role in the larger conversation with consumers.

The brands and agencies that will thrive are the ones that understand when to go deep and when to go quick. They'll know when to invest in building long-term brand equity through considered storytelling, and when to drop a perfectly timed topical moment that captures the zeitgeist. The question isn't whether brands are sacrificing depth for immediacy. It's whether they can master both, and know when each is needed. Because in the end, advertising has always been about connection. And connection, whether it takes six seconds or six minutes, is what will continue to define impact in this industry.