World Gold Council reframes jewellery for everyday identity

When she received her first salary, 21-year-old copywriter Kayla Noronha faced a choice: spend it on a celebratory party with friends or buy her first piece of gold jewellery. Her parents urged her to choose the latter, insisting it would serve as both a milestone marker and a sound financial investment. That generational divide between consumption and investment—between fleeting moments and lasting symbols—sits at the heart of The World Gold Council’s (WGC) latest campaign.

On 9 September, the international trade association launched The Moment is Gold, a jewellery campaign in India developed by BBDO India. Designed to enhance gold’s relevance among Gen Z and millennials, it shifts gold’s positioning from ceremonial milestones such as weddings to everyday experiences.

The ads highlight how jewellery can reflect modern, aspirational lifestyles while deepening emotional connections with the metal. The flagship film portrays a young man at a concert who briefly loses sight of his girlfriend in the crowd. His anxiety turns into relief when he recognises her by the gold jewellery she wears.

The moment is understated yet striking. It suggests gold’s value lies not only in its permanence, but in its ability to anchor intimacy in the everyday.

“For generations, gold has been tied to life’s monumental milestones,” said Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer at BBDO India. “With The Moment Is Gold, we’re reframing that tradition, by celebrating the spontaneous, everyday moments that carry meaning. It’s about giving gold a fresh, youthful relevance: not just for the big chapters of life, but also for the small, golden sparks that make every day extraordinary.”

From ceremonies to everyday sparks

For Arti Saxena, director and head of marketing—India at WGC, the campaign addresses a crucial reset. She claimed that The Moment is Gold campaign is fundamentally about reshaping the meaning of gold in the minds of younger generations, particularly Gen Z and millennials, who view it as both a cherished asset and a form of self-expression.

Saxena emphasised that younger audiences no longer wait for life’s big milestones to celebrate. “They find meaning in smaller accomplishments like cracking a tough project, receiving a heartfelt message or simply spending time with loved ones,” she told Campaign.

By highlighting the joy in celebrating everyday moments, big or small, the WGC aims to build a relatable narrative that resonates with their desire for meaningful experiences and individuality. This recalibration reflects a broader cultural shift.

Younger consumers are not abandoning tradition, but reinterpreting it. They are making gold less about inheritance and more about identity.

While the campaign debuts in India, WGC is positioning it as a framework adaptable to other markets. “In India, our messaging leverages the deep emotional connection and tradition around gold jewellery but adapts it to encourage everyday relevance for younger consumers,” Saxena said.

She added that globally, WGC is placing a greater emphasis on raising awareness and educating investors about the strategic importance of gold. Although this theme is consistent across major markets worldwide, each region's approach is tailored based on insights from its consumer research.

This dual focus—cultural relevance for jewellery buyers and strategic clarity for investors—underlines the trade body’s evolving role. Once primarily an advocacy body for gold as a safe-haven asset, it is now equally concerned with sustaining gold’s emotional and symbolic value.

Beyond price points

Gold scaled a new peak in India last week, touching INR 109,475 per 10 grams. The surge is being fuelled by a mix of festive buying, expectations of US Federal Reserve rate cuts, a weakening dollar, concerns over a global slowdown, heightened geopolitical risks, and continued central bank accumulation.

Although jewellery purchases could ease at these lofty levels, investment demand is holding firm—underscoring gold’s enduring role as a safe-haven asset.

Arti Saxena, director and head of marketing—India at World Gold Council.

But WGC insists the campaign is not designed to stoke short-term sales. “Gold has always been trusted even in uncertain times,” Saxena argued. “Our campaign goes beyond price conversation, we aim to build lasting relationships by emphasising gold’s enduring value, emotional significance, and versatility as both a treasured possession and a sound investment.”

The ambition, she said, is to foster sustained trust, encouraging younger audiences to see gold as a meaningful addition to every stage of life.

Storytelling without clichés

For BBDO, the creative brief required discarding many of jewellery advertising’s familiar tropes—weddings, rituals, staged grandeur. “We didn’t want staged grandeur or the over-orchestrated rituals to lean on,” Paul explained to Campaign.

Instead, the agency leaned into the unscripted; moments that feel borrowed from life rather than crafted on a storyboard. Everyday situations where gold is present, not as a prop, but as a participant. “That’s where the emotional layering comes in,” the spokesperson added.

The tone is deliberately spontaneous and free. “They don’t see gold only as a vault of value, but as an extension of who they are,” the spokesperson said of younger consumers. “Their sense of wealth is emotional as much as material. In our narrative, gold comes alive in the now. The tone is free, spontaneous, unfiltered - just like the way young people live their lives.”

By framing jewellery as close, familiar, even imperfect, the campaign attempts to avoid cliché. Instead of polishing the moments to perfection, the creative team chose to keep it raw, imperfect, alive.

Paul added, “Gold here isn’t shouting. It’s whispering. It’s not distant aspiration, it’s close and familiar. And that makes it infinitely more relatable. The campaign says: your everyday is worthy of gold.”

Tracking impact

Despite the emphasis on storytelling, the campaign is tied to hard targets. “The Moment is Gold campaign is anchored in ambitious objectives, we aim to drive relevance and emotional connect with our target audience, specifically targeting the Gen Z and millennial,” Saxena said.

She confirmed that WGC will monitor impact through a mix of consumer surveys, pre- and post-campaign analysis, and sentiment tracking. Metrics include shifts in perception, brand awareness and audience engagement.

“On a global scale, our focus is not only to increase brand awareness and educate investors on the strategic case for gold but also to deepen engagement with new audiences,” she added.

The council will rely on analytics across digital, social and mainline channels to assess reach. While celebrity tie-ins and influencer collaborations are not part of this initial burst, Saxena said they remain an option, provided they align with campaign values.

Gold as hedge and lifestyle

WGC’s messaging has shifted significantly over the years. The messaging has progressively expanded from a primary focus on gold’s financial security to embracing its role as a symbol of personal identity and modern lifestyle expression.

The key, Saxena argued, is adaptability. “By actively refreshing our communication strategy and integrating emerging trends and audience feedback, we ensure our creative direction remains dynamic, relevant and aspirational preventing it from becoming outdated while resonating authentically with today’s consumers,” she added.

This evolution mirrors a marketing trend where legacy products are repositioned not as relics, but as vehicles for self-expression.

Even as the campaign speaks to younger jewellery buyers, WGC is also developing a parallel initiative to strengthen gold’s reputation as a safe investment. “This initiative will emphasise gold's role as a trusted long-term asset, particularly in uncertain economic times,” Saxena noted.

The twin-track approach—gold as identity and gold as hedge—reflects the council’s attempt to reach both retail buyers and institutional investors.

The macroeconomic context is impossible to ignore. With volatility in global markets and falling consumer confidence, gold remains one of the few assets perceived as stable.

But WGC appears keen not to rely solely on fear or speculation. Instead, it wants to weave gold into cultural narratives that carry emotional weight.

Relevance beyond rituals

The challenge for BBDO lay in balancing boldness with relatability. “We found the extraordinary in the ordinary. Because that’s where life actually happens,” the agency spokesperson said. By focusing on micro-moments rather than staged grandeur, the campaign tries to anchor gold in lived experience.

This reframing reflects a larger ambition: to reclaim influence for gold jewellery at a time when competing categories—fashion, tech, travel—command younger buyers’ discretionary spending.

Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO India.

For WGC, the stakes extend beyond one campaign. As Saxena put it, “This multi-year initiative will be carefully monitored through metrics such as pre- and post-campaign analysis, consumer surveys to understand changes in perception around gold jewellery, and sentiment analysis.” The data-driven approach, she said, ensures strategies remain agile and outcome-oriented.

In practice, the campaign’s success will hinge on whether younger buyers begin to associate gold not just with tradition or safety, but with their everyday identities.

Gold’s story has long oscillated between two poles: a financial hedge and a cultural artefact. The Moment is Gold attempts to stitch those together, situating jewellery in everyday life while reminding investors of its enduring stability.

For marketers, the lesson may lie less in the specific creative and more in the strategy: legacy products cannot rely on heritage alone. They must be reframed in ways that resonate with contemporary identity while retaining their credibility.

In a volatile economic climate, that is not an easy balance to strike. But if WGC’s campaign succeeds, it will show that even the oldest asset classes can find new life in the smallest of moments.