When Flipkart launched its 2024 Diwali campaign “Purana Hatao,” it was a fresh take on our beloved festival Diwali—getting rid of the old to welcome the new. The ad used humor and cultural insight, showing an old man being mistaken for a worn-out household item that needs replacement. This playful storytelling not only captured attention but made shopping feel like a joyful restart, positioning Flipkart as the perfect destination for festive upgrades.
It’s campaigns like these that go beyond discounts; they become a part of the celebrations.
Diwali campaigns drive huge revenue and loyal customers. Online shopping during Diwali has surged, with sales growing 14% over last year, according to this Criteo report. This changing shopping habits of customers calls for digital ad campaigns that speak directly to customers' festive moods and needs.
But crafting personalized and visually appealing campaigns manually for diverse channels is challenging—fragmented customer journeys, sustaining brand voice, and consistently creating stunning creatives and copies can overwhelm marketers. This is where AI becomes an ally, helping marketers spark creativity, improve efficiency, and keep campaigns warm, personal, and relevant.
How to Use AI for Diwali Campaigns
The secret to memorable and efficient Diwali campaigns is smart work—from research to visuals. Here’s a clear path to follow.
1. Ideation: Research Trends and Analyze Competitors for Fresh Insights
Start by diving deep into what’s capturing shoppers’ attention this year. Go beyond best-selling products and discounts—analyze storytelling angles, ad formats, visual styles, and customer sentiment behind top-performing Diwali campaigns. Don’t overlook regional strategies; tier 2 and tier 3 cities often have distinct preferences worth exploring.
Additional Tip: Look for gaps in competitors’ campaigns—are there emotional themes or cultural rituals they haven’t explored? Identifying these can help you create truly unique messages.
AI prompt:
“Analyze ecommerce platforms’ Diwali 2025 campaigns to find trending products, emotional storytelling themes, ad formats, regional messaging variations, and customer sentiment patterns. Highlight opportunities where competitors are less active or customer needs are unmet.”
This thorough competitor and trends check grounds your creative process in current market realities, giving you a head start.
2. Campaign Planning: Map Behaviors, Segment Audiences, and Choose Channels
With insights in hand, craft a campaign calendar aligned to customer behavior—not just demographics. Separate early planners, last-minute shoppers, and gift-focused buyers. Pick channels and moments to reach each segment effectively. Integrate voice search keywords using local dialects and festival-specific phrases since many use voice assistants in their shopping journey.
Additional Tip: Time your messaging closely to festival events (Dhanteras, Diwali, Bhai Dooj) and build urgency with micro-moment offers.
AI prompt:
“Develop a segmented Diwali 2025 campaign calendar outlining specific messages, offers, and channels for early planners, gift buyers, and last-minute shoppers. Include voice search keywords localized for regional dialects and recommendations for event-triggered offers.”
This builds a roadmap for personalized and timely customer engagements.
3. Content Creation: Infuse Authentic Regional Flavor and Storytelling
Once ready with the campaign plan, use AI to generate draft content for social media, emails, WhatsApp, and push notifications. Then polish them with AI tools like Yarnit Humanizer to add warmth and brand voice consistency. Incorporate regional greetings, customs, and rituals to deepen cultural relevance. Use storytelling to link products to real festive moments—family celebrations, puja preparations, or gift exchanges.
Additional Tips:
Personal stories in your campaigns foster connection. Don’t just talk products—talk experiences.
Craft headlines, value proposition and FAQs from user generated content
AI social media prompt:
“Write a warm Diwali Instagram caption for South Indian audiences promoting ethnic wear. Use regional greetings like ‘Iniya Deepavali Vaazthukkal,’ reference local customs, and highlight a festive discount. Keep tone natural and celebratory.”
AI email prompt:
“Draft a Diwali email marketing gift hampers for North Indian customers, mentioning regional sweets and traditional gifting customs. Include gentle storytelling and a clear call to action.”
4. Visual Creation: Tailor Festive Imagery to Regional Celebrations
Visuals must feel authentic and regionally relevant. Use AI image generation tools to capture specific Diwali culture—distinct rangoli designs, lamp styles, and decorations from various states. Choose colors and symbols meaningful to different communities to build stronger emotional ties.
Additional Tip: Mix tradition and modernity—show contemporary celebrations with traditional motifs to resonate with urban and youthful audiences.
AI prompt:
“Create a Diwali banner with traditional North Indian rangoli, marigold garlands, and brass diyas. Use vibrant red and gold colors and include auspicious patterns for cultural authenticity.”
5. Influencer Scripts: Personal & Authentic Storytelling
Once the campaign plan is ready, the next important step is reach, and what’s a better choice than influencer marketing? Develop influencer scripts that weave their authentic festival experiences with your brand promotion for deeper resonance.
Pro Tip: Connect with influencers whose values and audience match your brand to ensure authenticity. Repurpose your campaign content into multiple formats such as reels, stories, static posts, and live sessions to maximize engagement and reach diverse audiences.
AI Prompt:
Please create an authentic and engaging Diwali influencer script that naturally blends the influencer’s personal festival experiences and gifting traditions with promotion of [INSERT BRAND NAME]’s exclusive Diwali gift bundles. The script should be warm and conversational, evoking the joy and togetherness of the festival while highlighting key product features. Adapt the script’s length and style to suit [INSERT PLATFORM, e.g., Instagram reels, YouTube videos, Stories], targeting [INSERT AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS]. Additionally, prepare a content roll-out plan that encourages sharing across multiple formats such as reels, stories, static posts, and live sessions, timed strategically around key dates like Dhanteras and Diwali to maximize audience engagement.
Diwali Campaign Inspirations: 3 Examples You Can Take Ideas From
Diwali campaigns hold special significance in the marketing calendar for reasons that go deeper than quarterly targets. During this time, consumers are more receptive to messages centered around family, prosperity, and new beginnings—themes that naturally evoke emotional responses.
Coca-Cola captured this beautifully with their #MagicWaaliDiwali campaign, which invited people to create personalized Diwali wish cards celebrating people and culture. Instead of forwarding generic messages, consumers could send unique, heartfelt wishes, making their greetings more meaningful and deeply connected to the spirit of the festival. This approach helped Coca-Cola build stronger emotional engagement by honoring the tradition of exchanging warm, personal wishes during Diwali.
With families gathering and social media buzzing with festive content, there's a natural spike in digital engagement that brands can meaningfully tap into.
Zomato’s 2024 Diwali campaign stood out by blending humor and culture. Starring actor Piyush Mishra, it shows a funny mission to light up India from space—until Zomato sweets delivery finally brightens the nation.
The catchy tagline, “Mithai Zomato Karo, Aur Desh Ko Roshan Karo,” linked the festive joy of sweets with spreading happiness nationwide. This quirky, culturally on-point campaign generated huge social engagement, demonstrating how sharp storytelling and relatable captions trigger peak digital buzz during Diwali.
Official Diwali Short Film | Piyush Mishra | Zomato
Brands that contribute to the festive spirit through meaningful campaigns become part of the cultural conversation, building goodwill that lasts throughout the year.
SWISS’s “Home Is Where Your People Are” campaign reframed Diwali as a celebration of togetherness, no matter the location. Encouraging those unable to travel home to visit their loved ones instead, it sparked millions of heartfelt stories via an original audio contest and social media engagement.
The campaign’s emotional message and multi-channel activations deeply connected with audiences, making SWISS a symbol of festive reunion and connection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHfTcU3a7RM&feature=youtu.be
The takeaway: campaigns that combine emotional cues with smart planning build loyalty that lasts beyond the festival.
Planning Your AI-Powered Diwali Campaign: Key Considerations
As you prepare to implement these AI strategies for your Diwali campaign, keep these additional planning tips in mind:
- Journey Mapping: Use AI to identify the unique customer journeys that emerge during Diwali season, which often differ from regular purchasing patterns.
- Pain Point Identification: Analyze customer service data from previous festive seasons to identify common friction points you can address proactively.
- Post-Purchase Experience: Plan for AI-powered follow-ups that extend the festive relationship beyond the initial purchase.
- Cultural Authenticity: Ensure AI-generated content reflects genuine understanding of Diwali traditions while remaining true to your brand voice.
- Human Oversight: While AI can generate impressive content, human review remains essential for cultural sensitivity and brand alignment.
- Tech Stack Integration: Choose AI tools that integrate smoothly with your existing marketing technology to avoid implementation delays.
Implementing these AI strategies may seem daunting, but comprehensive tools like Yarnit can simplify the process. Yarnit's suite of AI-powered marketing capabilities enables you to:
- Generate culturally authentic, brand-aligned Diwali content across channels
- Create stunning festival-themed visuals that capture Diwali's essence
- Develop personalized messaging that resonates with different audience segments
- Optimize campaign timing and channel distribution for maximum impact
- Analyze performance data to continuously refine your festive marketing approach
Diwali is the time to bring your brand closer to customers’ hearts. Creative campaigns that connect emotionally and run smoothly across touchpoints make all the difference.
Use smart tools like Yarnit that help you plan, create, and execute campaigns from start to finish—without losing the personal, warm touch your customers expect.
This year, let your Diwali campaigns shine brighter and last longer. Give Yarnit a try and bring that festive magic into your marketing.
