Cultural ‘Tadka’ drives India’s most effective ads in 2025

If dal-chawal is comfort food for millions across India, then cultural resonance is its advertising equivalent. That is the central truth Kantar unearthed from analysing over 12,000 creative executions globally in 2024—including 1,350 from India. These findings, distilled into the Kantar Creative Effectiveness Awards India 2025, offer a sharp lens on how creative storytelling is evolving to drive real-world business results.

Unlike most awards judged by jury panels, this one puts the consumer in charge. The winners are selected based on feedback from the very people who determine brand success in the market. According to Soumya Mohanty, managing director and chief client officer for South Asia, Insights Division at Kantar, "As we celebrate five years of the Creative Effectiveness Awards in India, it’s clear that creative evaluation has shifted from a checkpoint to a true growth driver."

This year’s winners include Godrej Consumer Products for its GoodKnight LV Power Cut TVC, created by Godrej Lightbox; Haleon’s Sangeet for Eno 3-in-1 by Ogilvy; and Hindustan Unilever’s School Ready spot for Horlicks, crafted by FCB. In the digital category, Hindustan Unilever clinched a win with Kona for Taj Mahal Tea, created by Ogilvy. Danone’s Protinex ad ‘Strength apne liye, apno ke liye’, also by Ogilvy, topped the TV (Unstereotype) category.

So, what made these ads click with viewers?

Kantar has marked the fifth anniversary of its India awards with a new insight framework: Culture is the Context. Creativity is the Catalyst. Impact is the Outcome. Mohanty elaborated, "With content tailored for varied platforms and audiences, Kantar LINK helps brands test and optimise creative across formats—from TVCs and digital films to influencer collaborations. This year’s winning campaigns from Danone, Hindustan Unilever, Haleon and Godrej show exactly that—how culturally rooted, emotionally resonant storytelling drives real business impact."

A deep dive into India’s top-performing ads revealed a few consistent truths. The first is that culture is the comfort food. Familiarity drives effectiveness. Much like how dal is rooted in memory and meaning, great Indian advertising uses cultural cues to anchor emotion and recall. The creative spark, or tadka, is what gives these stories flavour.

Similarly, moments matter. Effective advertising isn’t about grand cultural statements; it’s about micro-moments that resonate. From festival rituals to rainy train platforms, small slices of life hold big emotional power.

Brands like Pond’s, Godrej Fab, and Nihar captured these in campaigns that played with Bollywood nostalgia, satire, and evolving grooming standards. Others like Amazon, Meesho and Red Label explored shifting family dynamics and uniquely Indian quirks.

Since execution is everything, storytelling is only as good as its craft. Music, idioms, humour, casting—these quintessentially Indian tools elevate memorability and impact. The ads that won did not just tell good stories; they delivered them in an emotionally intelligent, sharply executed manner.

Brands that want to grow outside the Hindi belt must go beyond translation. Campaigns that use culturally specific moments, rather than just regional languages, resonate more. Regional anchoring trumps linguistic literalism.

Influencer content is no longer just a top-funnel tactic. According to Kantar India’s Context Lab Database, influencer content holds attention 2.2 times longer than traditional digital ads (average skip time extends from 7.9 seconds to 17.8 seconds), and average visibility duration is 1.4 times higher. Influencer-driven storytelling also delivers an average impact percentile score of 58, making it a potent force in the current attention economy.

As per the Kantar report, the big idea still matters. Effective ads do not invent culture, they tune into it. Brands that align with consumer context and serve stories with thought and flavour are the ones seeing better performance.

"The patterns we uncovered over five years show us what resonates deeply—stories rooted in culture, sparked by creativity and rich in emotional truth," noted Prasanna Kumar, head of creative domain, Insights Division, Kantar. "But to turn resonance into results, brands need more than instinct. That’s where Kantar LINK comes in, bringing the voice of the consumer, the ultimate stakeholder, into the creative process."

Kantar also highlighted how creative quality remains one of the few variables marketers can fully control. Among the top ten drivers of advertising profitability, brand size leads the pack, followed by creative quality and budget distribution. And while platform selection matters, even within the same platform, execution can swing performance widely.

The role of influencers isn’t just growing—it’s becoming pivotal. Kantar notes that 67% of consumers trust influencer recommendations more than traditional ads. "It’s not just about validating a creative idea," said Kumar, "but about developing an understanding of the finer execution elements that are crucial in amplifying impact."

This year’s winning campaigns exemplify this strategic, insight-driven approach to creativity. Whether it's Godrej's GoodKnight ad weaving storytelling around power cuts, or HUL's Kona ad for Taj Mahal reimagining tea-drinking with poetic elegance, these campaigns are testament to the evolving shape of advertising in India.

In a market where attention is fractured and consumer expectations are high, the key takeaway from Kantar’s Creative Effectiveness Awards 2025 is clear: advertising can no longer afford to be clever without being culturally aware. As platforms diversify and formats fragment, the universal truths of storytelling—emotion, relevance and executional flair—remain the cornerstones of effectiveness.

In the end, these awards are not just a roll call of creative excellence but a roadmap for brand marketers and agencies navigating India’s noisy, nuanced and culturally rich consumer landscape. And if culture is indeed the comfort food of Indian advertising, then creativity is the garnish that makes it unforgettable.