It’s the most beautiful day of the year again. Diwali. The word itself sets ablaze tiny little diyas in all our hearts. A festival that sets aside all differences, that brings people closer, that makes us smile right away. Put in a word, Diwali is magic. 

Especially after the year we have all had, we needed the cheerfulness that Diwali brings along with it. We are all just looking for a reason to celebrate and come together.

Diwali is undoubtedly my favourite time of the year and hopefully, it’s yours too. We all have grown up with grand fanfares and preparations around Diwali since we were children. 

As a kid, Diwali for me meant firecrackers, sweets, lanterns, decorations, but as I grew up, I realized that this festival is so much more than pretty aesthetics and scrumptious food. It is a festive week when we set ourselves free. You stop worrying about overindulging yourselves in sweets. You stop worrying about overspending. 

Apart from being a complete fan of Diwali, I am also a B2B sales enthusiast. So naturally, the sales part of my brain had to notice the impact the festival of lights has on businesses. 

I realized that this time around, the best of the marketers want to use all their creative might to win over their customer’s hearts. They create Commercials that are very cleverly designed to completely woo their clients. 

This year too, brands tried to make their presence felt during Diwali through some extremely creative videos. However, three brands stood out to me for touching my heart and tickling my emotional side. This article is for the heartfelt commercials that Cadbury, HP and Vivo gave us this year. 

1. Cadbury

This commercial from Cadbury is easily my favourite this year. This was one of the best attempts to solve a problem through marketing and technology.

This advertisement exemplifies how advancements in technology can solve problems that couldn’t be solved without it.  The pandemic hurt us all, but it hurt the small business owners the most. According to Businesstoday.in around 59% of small businesses were shut down in the pandemic, and this number is likely to rise.

Getting Shahrukh Khan to promote their brands is the best publicity local store owners could get. Cadbury passes on this important message of helping your local retailers, especially in their time of need during this pandemic. What a beautiful commercial. Kudos to Cadbury for creating this heartwarming advertisement for a good social cause. 

#Cadbury has adopted a unique and innovative strategy of promoting themselves by promoting others. If I have to buy Chocolates this Diwali the first name which comes to mind is undoubtedly Cadbury.

2. Hp

Go ahead and put this advertisement under the category, ‘Commercials that make you happy cry’. 

That frustrated old man shown in this commercial? You would find at least ten of them around you on a good day.  Tell me, how many of us stop for a minute to even think about them? 

This commercial from Hp makes you do that. It makes you think! It makes you recall all the other hassled local business owners you have seen around you. It has beautifully highlighted how a little help from you can actually turn someone’s life around. 

All of the other business owners in the commercial come together to help that old man. Isn’t that what Diwali is for? People coming together? People helping each other, making each other happy? Let’s do that this Diwali. Let’s be happy and make someone happier. Or as this commercial from Hp said. ‘Aao Diye se Diya jalate hai.’

#Hp through this commercial has brilliantly shown what their products can do for the betterment of this society, what value they can generate for us.

A very heartwarming, emotional commercial indeed. A commendable effort, Hp! 

3. Vivo

Before watching this commercial, I hope you keep some tissues handy. 

Honestly though, family, relationships, have always and will always make our festivals shine a thousand times brighter. 

Last year, most of us spent our holidays alone, or apart. And that is why this commercial hits the hardest. We realized that video calls only go so far. Nothing pleases the heart as much as holding close to us the people we love. As gradually things are returning back to normal, we have the opportunity to celebrate this Diwali with our loved ones. 

As the Vivo advertisement said, ‘Tasveero se log paas aate hai, lekin kabhi kabhi tasveer ki wajah se bhi aate hai’ What a beautiful sentiment. 

You might have noticed that I have overused words like ‘emotional’ and ‘sentimental ’ throughout this article. But this is what the marketers of these brilliant commercials have taught us.

The road to a customer’s wallet is through their hearts. Also, another important social message which was passed through all the commercials is that Diwali is about giving. It is about expressing gratitude, about making someone else a part of our celebration, especially people who are important to us and whose contribution we at times take for granted.

Diwali is about making someone smile, making their lives more joyous than it was yesterday. This Diwali let’s make someone happy. Let’s mend all our broken bridges and light them up with beautiful diyas. 

This Diwali, celebrate relationships. 

I hope you have a Diwali that gives you unremarkable joy and hope. Shubh Deepawali!