When wedding cash gets replaced by old phones

Cashify, an e-commerce platform to buy and sell used smartphones, has launched its latest campaign, ‘Phone Wala Shagun’ (The phone blessings), which focuses on unlocking the business potential of India’s idle smartphone inventory. It takes a humorous yet strategic turn on the traditional wedding cash, replacing it with something far more valuable in today’s digital-first world: old smartphones.

Live across Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and Meta, the campaign is designed to drive new user growth, trigger first-time resale behaviour, and embed the idea of resale into India’s cultural fabric — all ahead of the high-upgrade festive season.

India has over 300 million users eligible for smartphone upgrades yearly, yet millions of old devices lie unused — kept as ‘backups’ or forgotten. This campaign aims to address this behavioural inertia and nudges consumers toward a more innovative, value-driven alternative.

At its heart is a short film set in a traditional Indian wedding, where the groom arrives wearing a garland of old phones instead of cash, and guests gift used phones in place of the traditional wedding lifafa (envelope) containing cash. What follows is chaos, laughter, and one simple realisation that old phones aren’t junk, they’re uncashed currency.

Talking about the campaign, Nakul Kumar, co-founder and CMO of Cashify, said, “India doesn’t have a resale problem. It has a mindset problem. People don’t think of old phones as assets. With this campaign, we’re not just flipping a cultural tradition, we’re reframing how people see value. Our long-term vision is to embed resale into everyday decision-making.”

He added that resale of smartphones shouldn’t be reactive, it should be reflexive and a default part of the digital ownership journey. “This campaign is the first step in making that shift mainstream,” Kumar emphasised.

To bring the concept alive with authenticity, cultural nuance, and humour, Cashify onboarded Dhindora Media, a content and creator-led storytelling studio known for building relatable narratives for Gen Z and millennial audiences.

Jai Sahni of Dhindora Media shared that cracking Cashify’s idea was no easy feat because smartphone resale is a tricky category. It doesn’t naturally lend itself to everyday, relatable moments.

“We kept digging until a simple, quirky thought clicked: weddings are full of cash exchanges... what if, instead of cash, people started gifting their old phones? That became the spark for this film. It was a joy collaborating with the team at Cashify to bring this idea to life, right from scripting to execution. Always exciting when a brand is willing to have fun while solving a real problem,” Sahni explained.

Phone Wala Shagun marks the beginning of a long-term cultural storytelling platform that Cashify will roll out through 2025. With content-led properties like Lie Hard and an upcoming slate of festive and everyday-life campaigns, it aims to redefine resale as a more intelligent lifestyle choice, not just a utility service.

Campaign’s take: In its latest campaign, Phone Wala Shagun, Cashify crashes the Indian wedding playbook with a tongue-in-cheek twist: old phones instead of shagun cash. Think baratis (wedding) tossing handsets, not notes. The groom’s garland? A chain of dusty smartphones. Sweets are passed, but it’s the salis (sisters-in-law) flashing used iPhones that steal the show.

This cultural remix is more than a gimmick—it’s Cashify’s shot at flipping behavioural inertia around smartphone resale. With over 300 million Indians eligible for upgrades annually, it asks: why are old devices still languishing in drawers like forgotten dowry? The campaign lands its punch with a blend of absurdity and relatability, nudging consumers to treat unused phones as liquid currency.

It’s not the first-time weddings have been leveraged to package purpose. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank’s Cannes-winning Shagun Ka Lifafa celebrated financial independence. Dabur’s version piggybacked on Raksha Bandhan for playful sibling relevance. But while those campaigns focused on real currency, Cashify swaps it for digital-age detritus—and offers a redemption arc.

The underlying message is clever: resale isn’t a last resort—it’s a lifestyle upgrade. With humour, timing, and a generous dose of irony, Phone Wala Shagun positions Cashify as less of a buy-sell app and more of a circular living advocate. Old phone, new playbook.