Ad Spot: Asian Paints, boAt, Google Pixel & more

In this week’s ad spot three very different campaigns stand out, each reflecting how brands and institutions are leaning into culture, entertainment, and community to connect with audiences in distinct ways.

In Kolkata, Asian Paints marked four decades of its Sharad Shamman awards with a campaign that turned the city’s iconic yellow taxis into moving storytellers. Titled ‘Choltey Choltey Chollish’, the initiative takes its mascot Gattu on a journey through 40 years of Durga Pujo, charting shifts in how the festival has been celebrated, from bamboo pandals and cassette radios in the 1980s to today’s AR-led experiences. With its mix of hand-painted visuals and a soundtrack evolving across decades, the campaign acts as a cultural time capsule, spotlighting how Pujo continues to reinvent itself while retaining its essence as a community celebration.

If Asian Paints tapped into nostalgia and heritage, boAt chose to ride the wave of pop culture. The brand unveiled its PartyPal 700 speaker in collaboration with Netflix India’s 'The Ba**ds of Bollywood*', Aryan Khan’s directorial debut that has quickly sparked meme culture and trended on the platform. The campaign film ties the speaker’s loud, unfiltered energy to the show’s irreverent tone, featuring cast members trading sharp dialogue before co-founder Aman Gupta makes a cameo. Beyond the humour, the tie-up underscores how consumer tech brands are increasingly embedding themselves within entertainment properties, using fictional worlds as backdrops for product launches.

Meanwhile in the UK, Brighton & Hove Albion took a markedly different approach with its participation in the Premier League’s #TogetherAgainstSuicide campaign. The short film, set around a matchday, depicts two friends at a home game — one of whom begins to open up about his struggles with mental health. As part of a league-wide initiative, the campaign highlights football’s role as a community anchor, able to spark conversations that traditional public health messaging often struggles to reach. With suicide remaining the leading cause of death among men under 50 in the UK, the Premier League’s involvement gives the issue visibility at scale, showing how sport’s cultural reach can be mobilised for causes that go far beyond the pitch.

Let us take a look at all the ads that stood out this week.

BoAt X Netflix India - HONEST BOLLYWOOD PARTIES - The Ba***ds Of Bollywood

KPN - Everyone Except by Dentsu Creative Amsterdam

Medanta Hospital - Banno Ki Rasm by a-tom

Samaritans and Brighton & Hove Albion – Premier League’s Together Against Suicide by Be The Fox, Brighton

Asian Paints Sharad Shamman: Cholte Cholte Chollish – A Royale Tribute to Kolkata by Ogilvy

Smartphone Free Childhood US - "Let's Change The Norm" by Fearless Mortals

Google Pixel 10 - Vanilla by Google Creative Lab

Black Myth: Wukong x McDonald's China by Leo