Have women in festive ads stepped out of the kitchen?

The scene is set. There is soft light illuminating the kitchen. There’s a woman, draped in a neatly worn saree, hair in place, makeup in check, moving gracefully between counters filled with ingredients. Jalebis are sizzling away in the kadhai, while she gleefully smiles at her family enjoying the festivities outside the house. The camera lingers on her serene smile as she stirs, fries, and plates for her family. The tagline appears, ‘Celebrating traditions, celebrating you’.

But who, exactly, is being celebrated here? This isn't a specific advertisement; it's a composite of dozens. An e-commerce platform's Diwali film, a kitchen appliance brand's festive offer, or an FMCG company's Karva Chauth campaign. The woman changes faces, but her role remains the same: the orchestrator, the nurturer, the beautiful backdrop.

These were the kind of festive ads that most of us grew up watching, and honestly, this was also the reality in most households, a woman working tirelessly to make the festive time the best for the rest of the family.

A study by ASCI found that festive ads tend to portray women as either mute motifs of auspiciousness or the ‘central worker,’ making sweets, stringing garlands, or drawing rangoli — turning them into mere props, contributing little to the ad or the product.

But creative folks from the industry say, times are changing. "There was a time when most festive ads treated women as decor, perfectly dressed and emotionally available to everyone but themselves," says Malvika Thirani, Creative at Talented. "But the camera's finally catching up to the woman behind the mithai tray."

More festive ads are leaving the regressive stereotypes behind. Drishti Chikhal, Founding Member and Senior Group Head at Punt Creative, says. "A decade ago, festive advertising almost had a template: women as caregivers, orchestrators of the festival, always on their feet, never in focus. She was the mise-en-scène, not the protagonist. And when she did lead, it was usually through the obvious, expected roles such as cooking, cleaning, and fussing over festive prep."

Today, she notes, there are glimpses of change. "You do see women portrayed as more independent and central — she's buying her own gifts, celebrating with friends, or even choosing solitude without being pitied. The lens has shifted from how she serves (or doesn't) to how she celebrates. That's important."

Take Tanishq’s festive ad for this year — ‘She Creates Culture’. The ad shows different scenarios where women break traditions that once excluded them and make space for themselves. One scene shows a Bengali wedding, where traditionally, a groom’s mother was not allowed to attend or sit in front of the pyre. Another shows a Bhai Phonta celebration, where a sister chants a prayer claiming to protect her brother from all evil and, in return, asks why the brother isn’t doing the same for her,  thus changing the age-old tradition of the festival.

Creative experts say that one space where this change has been prevalent is the jewellery industry. Aarti Srinivas, Head of Creative, Curativity says, “One space where this feels especially true is jewellery, where women are now shown gifting themselves and celebrating their own milestones, instead of waiting to be gifted by someone else. It quietly speaks of independence, both financial and emotional.”

Chikal says, "In categories that deal with self-expression, like fashion, beauty, jewellery, and gifting, women tend to be at the heart of the story. These categories sell identity, so it makes sense to show women making choices for themselves. But the contrast is stark in traditionally 'family-oriented' or male-coded categories like automotive, finance, tech appliances, or even cooking oils, where she's still often the emotional backdrop, not the main voice."

The reason, she argues, is structural. "Many brands still brief from a lens of 'family appeal,' which defaults to gendered storytelling. It's safer. But it's also about who's writing the brief. When women are in those rooms as marketers, strategists, or creative leads, the stories automatically widen."

But with this changing attitude, a new challenge has emerged for women placed at the centre of these ads — the unconventional, do-it-all woman.

Gauri Burma, Founding Member & Senior Creative Director at Fundamental, says, “Over the last few years, campaigns have, quite often, placed women on a pedestal, heralding them as goddesses, boss ladies, sheroes, queens who are doing it all, and doing it brilliantly — instead of, you know, as humans. The 180-turn may seem empowering on the surface, but it places additional pressure: to be perfect at everything. And do we really need that?"

Imagine a festive ad made by a jewellery brand in recent years. A woman wakes at dawn, completes a yoga routine, prepares breakfast for her family, heads to her corporate job, returns to host a house party, and still looks flawless as she lights diyas at midnight, all while wearing the brand's latest collection. The message? She can have it all. The reality? She must do it all.
This ‘decorative feminism’, as some in the industry call it, has become the new face of stereotyping. The woman is no longer just cooking; now, she’s working, exercising, and looking flawless while doing it all. It's progress wrapped in pressure.

What has driven this (minute) change? 

So, what has pushed brands to take the baby steps? According to Chikal, it's both aspiration data and commercial necessity. "There's been a very real shift in aspiration data over the last few years. Modern Indian women, especially in urban and semi-urban pockets, define happiness through choice, not compliance. Research consistently shows they're spending more on self-gifting, travel, and personal experiences during festive periods. Marketers have picked up on that. Women aren't waiting to be celebrated anymore. They're celebrating themselves."

Burma puts it more bluntly: "They're not wallflowers. They have spending power and don't shy away from exercising it. They're the ones doing the choosing, clicking, paying. Many brands have, obviously, cottoned on to that."

The casting question

When brands sit down to cast festive campaigns, are they consciously trying to challenge stereotypes, or simply checking boxes?

"Both are happening at the same time, and that tension is a good thing," says Chikal. "Because it means the industry's in flux. We're not stuck, but we're not pretending everything's fixed either."

In Tanishq's festive ad, the stories shown had multiple generations of women as the protagonists — a woman supporting her husband's career ambitions, and sequences highlighting intergenerational continuity of cultural adaptation.

"But at the same time, traditional depictions haven't vanished," Chikal acknowledges. "There's still comfort in the familiar, the picture-perfect home, the diya-lighting montage, the 'tested' happy family frame. Even well-intentioned brands fall back on it because it feels safe."

Thirani says, "It depends on the brand's appetite for risk. Some brands are starting to challenge the 'perfect festive woman' trope—she's not always the one serving, smiling, or waiting. But most festive storytelling still plays it safe. It's easier to celebrate women than to listen to them. And the latter rarely fits into a 60-second film alongside a montage of belly laughs and family hugs."

Naila Patel, Independent Creative Consultant, points out a pattern, "Traditional depictions dominate, so do safe disruptions. Brands are willing to experiment with the storyline, not with the characters."

What needs to change

Despite the progress, creatives agree that the work is far from done. Representation may have evolved visually, but the emotional depth and diversity of women’s stories still lag behind.

"What excites me most is the emotional evolution," says Chikal. "Women characters are allowed to have curiosity, humour, and even imperfection. That kind of writing didn't exist before. But not every story has caught up to that emotional truth yet. So yes, she's more active and central, but we still have work to do to make her fully dimensional."

Srinivas echoes this sentiment, noting that while there are encouraging signs in a few industries, the overall shift remains surface-level. "It's not a drastic change yet, at least not to the extent I'd like to see. But in some categories, the shift is becoming more visible. Their voices and choices are being recognised."

That limited progress, experts say, often comes from the same set of industries, fashion, jewellery, and beauty, where women have traditionally been the target audience. The rest still rarely see women as independent decision-makers. Patel points out how much more remains unexplored. "I think there is a lot of potential for women to become central to travel and finance. I also think that we have not seen advertising celebrate the semi-urban or rural woman enough. A study has revealed that 30% of semi-urban women have become solo decision-makers in purchase."

Festive advertising in India is a paradox. It’s a space where brands spend big, where emotions matter most, and where ‘family values’ are treated as sacred. Yet, it’s also the space where women are still most often shown through old stereotypes.

As Chikal puts it, "The campaign's biggest win is intent. It may not have rewritten the narrative completely, but it's definitely rewritten the brief."

Maybe that’s where real change begins. Not in the glossy final ad, but in the brief itself. In the casting call, that doesn’t automatically say ‘attractive female, 25-35’. In the script that doesn’t ask “what does she cook?” but instead asks “what does she want?”