The Festive Marketing Playbook: How quick commerce brands bet on humour to win the season

With the festive season being one of the most competitive advertising periods of the year, quick commerce brands like Blinkit, Zepto, Flipkart Minutes, and Swiggy Instamart are increasingly leaning on humour-led campaigns to stand out in the clutter. From meme-style social posts and tongue-in-cheek product campaigns to relatable storytelling built around festive chaos, humour is fast becoming the go-to creative language of the 10-minute delivery wars.

Let's understand from these brands and one of the creative agencies behind such storytelling, how and why humour works so effectively for quick commerce in this period. How agencies approach building these light-hearted yet impactful narratives, and some examples where humour significantly amplified brand visibility or consumer response.

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Industry leaders say the approach isn’t just about standing out, it’s about aligning directly with the category’s core proposition: speed, convenience, and last-minute rescue.

Abhishek Shetty, CMO, Swiggy Instamart, echoes the sentiment, calling humour the brand’s most powerful “festive language.” “In quick commerce, speed is the promise, but humour is the hook. Festivals are already emotionally rich, so instead of adding another layer of sentiment, we’ve found that light-hearted, witty storytelling cuts through clutter, builds instant recall, and still keeps convenience at the core,” he says.

Swiggy Instamart’s track record proves the point. Campaigns like ‘Sona Kitna Sona Hai’ for Diwali and Dhanteras, ‘Instasanta’ during Christmas, and ‘InstaTohfa’ on Valentine’s Day all turned culturally rich occasions into comedic storytelling moments, showing customers that even the most traditional festive needs, from gold coins to last-minute gifts, could arrive in minutes. “The key is balance: the humour never trivializes the festival, it amplifies its spontaneity. That’s why humour has become our most effective festive language, it makes people smile, makes the brand memorable, and most importantly, makes the business move,” adds Shetty.

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The rise of humour in this category reflects a deeper behavioural insight: Indian festivals are joyful yet chaotic – fertile ground for relatable stories about panic-driven purchases and last-minute fixes, making them a natural fit for the quick commerce promise.

“Festivals are joyful and pure fun, but let’s be honest, they are also overwhelming,” says Pratik Shetty, Vice President, Growth and Marketing, Flipkart. “From running out of ghee in the middle of making laddoos to forgetting that one all-important gift, the panic is real. These urgent moments are where quick commerce truly saves the day, with Flipkart Minutes stepping in instantly to turn festive stress into instant wins. Our storytelling through ads uses humour rooted in everyday festive crises, exaggerating the problem just enough to make the solution feel both impactful and memorable.”

Campaigns like Flipkart Minutes’ festive shorts, which show hilarious “mini emergencies”, like guests showing up hours early or a missing Diwali puja item being delivered just in time, have resonated with audiences for exactly this reason. In bite-sized 15-30 second formats, the brand blends relatability with sharp utility, ensuring viewers leave both entertained and reminded of its core value.

But getting the tone right is critical. The most effective humour in this space isn’t slapstick or random, it’s contextual, culturally grounded, and tightly tied to the brand message.

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Harshad Chitale, Account Director, White Rivers Media, explains, “Humour cuts through the noise of festive advertising by delivering instant relatability in a space crowded with emotional and celebrity-led narratives. For quick commerce brands, it mirrors the last-minute urgency and everyday chaos of festive shopping, turning stress into light-hearted moments. This makes the proposition of speed and convenience feel more approachable and memorable. Unlike celebrity-driven storytelling, which can lean aspirational, humour creates inclusive appeal across demographics and ensures higher recall in a cluttered environment.”

“The humour that resonates most is context-driven, culturally sensitive, and aligned with brand identity,” says Chitale. “Observational wit and meme-inspired formats perform better than slapstick, especially with digitally savvy audiences. Every joke or punchline is tied directly to the brand promise, speed, convenience, or festive problem-solving, ensuring humour amplifies the message rather than distracts from it.”

This approach is evident in Zepto’s much-talked-about “Soan Papdi” campaign, which turned the most recycled Diwali sweet into a running joke. Through clever social posts and short videos, the brand poked fun at the gift-giving cycle, showing Soan Papdi boxes being passed from door to door, before positioning itself as the saviour that delivers better, fresher festive essentials in minutes. The campaign became an instant hit online, precisely because it blended cultural insight with product relevance.

Humour isn’t just about engagement, it’s proving to be a measurable growth driver. “Humour consistently drives stronger engagement and shareability than traditional festive advertising because it invites active participation rather than passive viewing,” notes Chitale. “Witty, relatable content is widely shared on social platforms, organically amplifying reach and visibility. This higher recall translates into measurable conversion lifts, whether in app installs, order volumes, or repeat usage, because humour reduces the perception of urgency or complexity around festive purchases.”

From Zepto’s meme-worthy Diwali jokes and Blinkit’s witty “last-minute gift” social campaigns to Swiggy’s tongue-in-cheek seasonal films and Flipkart’s lighthearted mini-dramas, humour is no longer a creative afterthought, it’s a strategic lever for brand performance. It transforms panic into participation, builds cultural connection, and turns even the smallest festive purchase into a memorable brand moment.

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And in a season filled with emotion and celebrity-packed ads at every turn, it’s the brands that make us laugh that we’re most likely to remember, and buy from first.