How Indian Brands Are Using AI This Diwali: A Case Study in Speed, Scale and Human Insight
From RENEE’s 70–80% cut in production time to OpenAI’s Hindi-voiced festive film, here’s how Indian brands are using AI this Diwali and what still makes campaigns work.
With Diwali on November 8, Indian advertising is in its busiest window: the festive season accounts for more than a third of the country’s annual ad spend. This year, AI is no longer an experiment in that window. A feature published by LBB on October 30, marking five years since Cadbury’s landmark “Shah Rukh Khan-My-Ad”, asked agency leaders how brands are using AI this Diwali. Together with recent industry reporting, it makes a useful case study.
The benchmark: Cadbury, 2021
Created with Ogilvy India, Cadbury’s campaign let small neighbourhood retailers generate their own ad featuring Shah Rukh Khan. Ogilvy India’s chief creative officer Sukesh Nayak said in the feature that what made it ahead of its time was the humanity of its ambition, not the sophistication of the technology.
What brands are doing in 2026
Speed and volume. OPPO, SBI Life Insurance and Haier are using AI to create and test ads instead of relying on expensive studio shoots. RENEE Cosmetics reported a 30.16% jump in engagement and production time cut by up to 70–80%, while Ferns N Petals said it executes creative nearly four times faster.
Cultural insight. Monks’ AI-produced “Mushak Loan” campaign for Prefr built on the Ganesh Chaturthi tradition of whispering wishes into Mushak’s ear.
Language and voice. OpenAI’s festive film “The Notice” uses ChatGPT’s new Hindi voices in a family story about defending an ancestral home, while signalling when human expertise is still needed.
Co-creation. Brands are inviting audiences to generate personalised greetings and visuals, following campaigns like Coca-Cola India’s “Magic Wali Diwali”.
The lessons
Efficiency is the entry ticket, not the idea. Faster production frees budget and time, but it does not make an ad memorable.
Insight still wins. VIRTUE India’s Hayden Scott said in the feature that without an active human role or a strong human insight, AI campaigns simply will not work.
Personalise with purpose. Cadbury personalised to help local shopkeepers, not just to show off technology.
Respect culture. Festive rituals, regional languages and family dynamics are where AI output is most likely to feel generic, so human review matters most there.
At The Quick Craft, we combine AI animation, custom visuals and AI filmmaking with human-led strategy, helping brands build festive campaigns that move fast without losing the insight that makes people care.
