5 Average Diwali 2025 Commercials That Brands Shouldn't Repeat This Year

Diwali is one of the biggest opportunities for brands to connect with their audiences. Every year, companies roll out festive campaigns hoping to capture the mood of the season, strike an emotional chord with consumers, and leave a lasting impression. But not every campaign manages to get it right. Sometimes, the storytelling falls flat, the messaging feels forced, or the brand seems so focused on promoting itself that it forgets what makes a good advertisement in the first place.

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Of course, not every Diwali commercial needs to be a masterpiece. But when brands invest time and resources into festive campaigns, audiences have every right to expect something more than predictable storylines and half-baked ideas.

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With that in mind, let's revisit these 5 average Diwali 2025 commercials that we hope will serve as an example, and not inspiration, for other brands.

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1. Home Credit

Imagine getting all grumpy and bitter because someone in your family steps up and helps you with Diwali preparations! Sounds somewhat illogical, right? Well, it didn’t to whosoever decided to green flag this campaign.

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The ad follows a father who feels slighted because his son is shouldering the responsibilities of the household and playing a key role in Diwali preparations. When the son senses the insecurities of his father’s frail ego, he leaves him a gift with a sweet note, thus, catering to his sense of self-importance.

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I’m not quite sure if the brand’s marketing team has ever been anywhere near an Indian household during Diwali. Because if that were the case, they’d know that fights between family members during Diwali usually happen when people aren’t working as diligently as their other relatives; not when they are working just as hard as everyone else! Maybe it’s time for them to change their research team, provided they had one in the first place!

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2. Haldiram’s

Everyone loves a good homecoming Diwali spot. But what if the “homecoming” were to be restricted only to the exchange of sweets, without the arrival of the individuals the homecoming spot revolved around? Yeah, that’s what’s wrong with this Diwali 2025 ad.

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The brilliant marketing minds at Haldiram’s thought that it would be a good idea for parents and their son to exchange Haldiram’s sweets and wishing each other over a video call, thereby, giving the impression that a sweet pack would somehow make up for their absence. The only problem is that it doesn’t happen!

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Now, I understand that people are busy and may not make it to such festive occasions and be with their family and friends. But that doesn’t mean brands get to pitch in themselves as some sort of ‘replacements’ for people, in the name of product placement.

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Sorry, Haldiram’s, this advert didn’t even have a fraction of the flavor that your sweets do!

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3. Dhan

Indian fintech brand Dhan launched this spot last Diwali, showing how traders celebrated Diwali differently than the rest of the folks. And it couldn’t be more bizarre and unusual!

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From preparing watchlists before shopping lists to drawing charts in rangoli, the ad tries to prop up traders as a lot that’s totally out of sync with Diwali traditions and doesn’t care much about the customs. The thing is, I have never seen anybody, even people from the Indian business community who have been into trading for generations, celebrating Diwali in such a way.

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Honestly, I have no idea why they even came up with this advert. I get it that they wanted to put their brand out there, but I don’t understand the need to manufacture certain practices that aren’t even followed by the wide majority of the community that the advert claims to be directed towards.

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Please come up with a better campaign this year, fellas!

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4. L’Oréal Paris

Diwali is a time for reconnecting with loved ones, celebrating old memories, and creating new ones. So, what happens when a brand tries to turn all of that into a campaign about inner radiance and self-worth? Well, you get this L’Oréal Paris commercial featuring Alia Bhatt and her childhood friends.

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The campaign takes a more personal approach to the festival, focusing on female friendships, nostalgia, and the idea of finding the festive spirit within yourself. Sounds nice on paper, but here's the thing: where's the actual Diwali connection beyond the familiar festive setting and the feel-good messaging? The campaign leans heavily on sentimental themes without necessarily offering a particularly fresh take on how people experience the festival.

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I get that not every Diwali ad needs to feature family reunions, elaborate celebrations, or the usual exchange of sweets and gifts. But if a brand wants to stand out during the festive season, it needs to give audiences something more distinctive than a collection of warm feelings and glossy visuals.

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Sorry, L’Oréal, but this one needed a little more sparkle to truly shine!

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5. OnePlus

Honestly, there isn’t much fault that one can find with an advert that promotes a noble cause. This OnePlus ad featuring Jackie Shroff exhorts the audience to plant a sapling for every light lit during the festival, with the brand pledging to plant 100,000 plants. It's a thoughtful initiative, and you have to give OnePlus credit for trying to make the celebrations a little greener!

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That said, I couldn't help feeling that the campaign leaned more towards promoting a noble cause than creating a memorable Diwali advertisement. The message was straightforward enough, but the connection between lighting a lamp and planting a sapling could have been explored in a more engaging way.

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Don't get me wrong, I'm all for brands using their reach to encourage environmentally responsible behaviour. But a good cause doesn't automatically make for a great commercial. OnePlus could have done more to bring the idea to life through a compelling narrative rather than relying primarily on the appeal of the initiative itself.

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Kudos for the cause, OnePlus, but perhaps next time, give us a story that stays with us as long as the message does!

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Wrapping Up

And that’s a wrap of average Diwali 2025 commercials. I understand that not every advertisement will appeal to everyone, and even an average campaign can offer valuable lessons. But brands should be willing to look critically at their past work, recognise where they missed the mark, and find better ways to connect with consumers. After all, Diwali comes around every year, but that doesn't mean the same old advertising ideas deserve a comeback.

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Here's hoping this year's campaigns bring fresher ideas, more thoughtful storytelling, and fewer reasons for us to write another list like this one!