Brands sow a shared emotion in their ads for India's harvest festivals

From Makar Sankranti in the western part of India to Pongal in Tamil Nadu to Lohri in Punjab, India's mid-January harvest festivals arrive under different names but carry a unified sentiment, gratitude for abundance, renewal of bonds, and the warmth of shared traditions. Brands have long recognised this cultural convergence, releasing campaigns each year that speak to regional identities while tapping into emotions that transcend geography.

A recurring motif across many of these festivals is the sesame-jaggery sweet, known commonly as 'tilgud' in Maharashtra, a symbol of sweetness in relationships and the promise of sweeter days ahead. This year's campaigns follow suit, weaving together local customs with universal themes of family and connection.

Parle G's campaign unfolds in rural Punjab, centred on a father's dilemma over ancestral land and a daughter who, with modern knowledge, turns the unfertile agricultural land into a fertile one before Lohri. The narrative avoids grandstanding, instead letting emotion emerge through restraint and lived experience. It revolves around the raw emotion of the festival, which is a good harvest season.

Birla Opus, meanwhile, focuses on a Tamilian household preparing for Pongal, following a newlywed daughter-in-law navigating new traditions. The story touches on rituals, kolam-making, festive cooking, and concludes with her husband inviting her parents to celebrate together, bringing two families under one roof. The message centres on the festivals being celebrated together.

Wonderla takes a different approach, shifting the narrative from a family's Pongal preparations at home to their visit to a theme park. The campaign draws a line between tradition as context and experiences as the makers of lasting memories.

Across these campaigns, the approach remains consistent: anchor the story in regional authenticity, and let shared human emotion do the rest.

Here are some brands' ad films that have celebrated the harvest festival this year:

Parle - G

Birla Opus

Big Basket

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Flipkart

South Indian Bank

Wonderla

Ramraj Cotton

La Pink