Sassy Swiggy to Zany Zepto: How brands put the Quirk in Q-comm campaigns

Quick comm brands have been pushing the envelope with quirky marketing that is bound to stay top-of-mind for young, digital-first consumers

by Soumya Gawri
Published: May 5, 2025 9:31 AM | 8 min read

Once a category driven purely by speed and convenience, quick commerce has now mastered the art of quirky marketing to stay top-of-mind for young, digital-first consumers. In a space where multiple brands promise delivery in minutes, it’s no longer enough to shout about speed alone. Instead, brands like Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, and Zomato Everyday have embraced humour, meme culture, and pop-culture references to build emotional connections, spark conversations, and break through the clutter. Whether it’s transforming regifted sweets into festive heroes or blending influencer memes with product launches, the quick commerce industry has shown that creativity can fuel loyalty as much as convenience does. In this piece, we take a closer look at how the top three players, Swiggy, Zomato, and Zepto, have cracked the code with bold, quirky campaigns that go far beyond standard advertising.

Swiggy India

Swiggy has carved a distinct identity in India’s marketing landscape with its bold, meme-driven campaigns that resonate with the country's digital-native audiences. From meme parades to influencer mashups, the brand’s marketing efforts constantly push creative boundaries and capture attention in fresh, unexpected ways.

In early 2025, Swiggy Instamart rolled out its “InstaFart” campaign, bringing viral memes off the internet and onto Mumbai's streets. Popular characters like the “Pasandida Insaan” girl and even Shrek made real-world appearances in horse-drawn carriages, turning virtual humour into a tangible spectacle. Around the same time, Swiggy collaborated with a slew of meme legends, including Ganji Chudail, Puneet Superstar, and the Vada Pav Girl, to promote SwiggyXL, a feature for bigger group orders. The campaign blended influencer marketing with meme culture in a way that felt authentic and hilarious.

For Instamart’s birthday celebrations, Swiggy tapped into WWE superstar The Great Khali’s massive popularity. The #KhaliKaKhaaliCart campaign encouraged fans to fill in the blank, "Khali ka khaali cart mein hoga _______," with users receiving quirky personalised images of Khali holding their chosen items. This campaign alone drove a massive spike in social engagement during the birthday week.

Swiggy’s quirky streak continued during Diwali with the launch of WITASA, short for “Why Is This A Swiggy Ad?” The campaign featured surreal visuals, such as their now-iconic Gulab Jamun Uncle floating in space, and challenged audiences to decode the ad’s hidden meaning. Thousands responded, turning the campaign into a viral guessing game and reaffirming Swiggy’s knack for digital-first, high-engagement storytelling.

Swiggy also tapped into festive nostalgia by partnering with Dandiya queen Falguni Pathak during Navratri. The playful campaign featured Falguni appearing invisible until Swiggy Instamart delivered festive essentials, blending traditional celebrations with the speed and convenience of quick commerce.

For Valentine's Day 2025, the brand leaned into Bollywood nostalgia with Tusshar Kapoor, reviving the retro hit "Tohfa Tohfa" in a campaign that highlighted Swiggy Instamart’s speedy gifting solutions. Earlier, in 2023, Swiggy had also made waves with its “Swiggy Weekends” ads, using dramatic misdirection to turn serious-looking scenarios into cheeky promos for weekend food offers. Through a clever mix of humour, pop culture, and innovative engagement tactics, Swiggy is marketing for a young, digitally savvy India.

Zomato India

Zomato’s marketing has consistently blended sharp humor, cultural relevance, and real-time engagement, making it one of India's most beloved and viral brands.

One of Zomato’s hallmark tactics has been its witty, minimalist billboards. Across cities, ads like “Dilli ke winters + Garma Garam Chole Bhature = Love Story” and “Mac n Cheese? More like Mac n Please” used short, punchy copy to instantly connect with urban audiences. The billboards were so popular that people began posting pictures of them unprompted, turning outdoor advertising into free social media buzz.

Their push notifications have been a separate marketing phenomenon. Lines like "Hey, we know you’re ignoring your diet today, can we help?" or "Dinner plans? We thought you’d never ask" showcased how Zomato transformed even simple app notifications into moments of brand love. At one point, Zomato’s witty notifications were so widely discussed that several media articles were dedicated just to decoding their copywriting style.

During the 2023 Cricket World Cup, Zomato leveraged real-time marketing brilliantly. Every major match moment, a quick fall of wickets, a thrilling chase, was met with an immediate, meme-worthy post or notification. Their post during an India-Pakistan match, hinting at ordering biryani to calm nerves, went viral within minutes, reinforcing Zomato’s mastery at tapping into live national sentiment.

In late 2024, Zomato revived its Gold loyalty program with a quirky meta-campaign titled "Gold is Back". Instead of a grandiose announcement, Zomato used self-deprecating humor, acknowledging how customers had endlessly asked about Gold’s return. The campaign included playful apology-style videos and social media posts, where they mock-admitted they missed Gold too, making the announcement feel relatable and honest.

Zomato has also leaned into pop culture collaborations. In 2022, they partnered with Disney+ Hotstar for the show Rudra, featuring Ajay Devgn. Their food + entertainment campaign linked intense crime-thriller viewing nights with binge-eating comfort food, blending two massive consumer passions: food and OTT.

On Valentine's Day, instead of focusing solely on couples, Zomato flipped the narrative to champion singles. Campaigns like "Who needs a Valentine when you have Butter Chicken?" and "Date night? More like plate night" struck a chord with young audiences who preferred good food over romantic clichés.

Across platforms, from billboards and memes to push notifications and video campaigns , Zomato’s marketing has consistently been built on being relatable, witty, and refreshingly self-aware, setting a gold standard for brands engaging India’s millennial and Gen Z audiences.

Zepto India

One of Zepto’s most memorable campaigns came during Diwali 2024 with “Make Soan Papdi Great Again.” In a clever twist on the long-running meme about Soan Papdi being the most regifted sweet, Zepto humanized the dessert in a humorous ad film. The video depicted Soan Papdi going through an existential crisis, until a Zepto delivery executive appoints it as the company's "Comeback Officer." To extend the campaign’s life beyond traditional ads, Zepto even created a live LinkedIn profile for Soan Papdi, making it the "first sweet to have a corporate career." This campaign clocked over 800 million impressions, boosted platform searches by 500%, and recorded a 74% spike in social engagement, showing Zepto’s ability to tap into internet culture and festive sentiment at once.

Beyond festive seasons, Zepto has consistently used topical humor and speed-focused messaging to engage younger audiences. In mid-2024, during India's record-breaking summer heatwave, Zepto rolled out a quick digital campaign themed "Beat the Heat in 10 Minutes," promoting essentials like ice creams, cooling drinks, and air coolers. Simple, witty visuals and notifications like "Sweat less, chill more" paired urgency with comfort, reinforcing Zepto’s core proposition of ultra-fast delivery.

Another clever activation came during the 2024 IPL season. Instead of just regular ads, Zepto focused on "Match Break Essentials", encouraging people to order quick snacks and beverages between overs. Push notifications and real-time social media posts, for example, "Only two overs left, enough time to get your chips delivered!" , made the experience hyper-relevant and boosted in-game orders.

Zepto’s Valentine’s Day 2025 campaign also stood out. Instead of traditional romantic ads, they launched "Valentine's Emergency Kits" for last-minute gifters, promoting chocolates, flowers, perfumes, and quirky cards all deliverable in under 10 minutes. The messaging targeted procrastinators humorously: "Forgot? Forgiven. Delivered in 10."

Even in the everyday category, Zepto has adopted a fun tone across its creatives, frequently poking fun at typical shopping struggles, like "When life gives you lemons, we’ll deliver them in 10 minutes", or promoting grocery essentials through meme-style content on Instagram and Twitter.

Across festive moments, pop culture trends, cricketing seasons, and even everyday emergencies, Zepto’s marketing consistently blends urgency, humor, and high relatability, helping the brand not just sell speed but also build strong emotional resonance with young urban consumers.

In a market as competitive and fast-moving as quick commerce, it’s clear that speed alone isn't the winning formula anymore. Brands like Swiggy Instamart, Zomato Everyday, and Zepto have shown that marrying convenience with creativity can drive deeper consumer loyalty and brand love. By tapping into meme culture, everyday humor, and relatable moments, they have managed to stay culturally relevant while still pushing their core promise of fast deliveries. As the category continues to evolve, the brands that combine operational efficiency with bold, quirky storytelling are likely to stay ahead, not just in delivering products, but also in delivering memorable experiences.