Seven brands in one darshan queue: the 2026 festive ads so far
Diwali's films are only starting to land. Before them, brands crowded the Lalbaugcha Raja queue and went after Bappa's mouse.
By the Monumentum desk · Published 13 Oct 2026 · How we check
Diwali falls on 8 November, and its ads are landing now. The season started a month earlier, at Ganesh Chaturthi, and that is where brands showed how they like to spend on a festival: in the queue at its biggest pandal, and on the god's own mouse.
Seven brands in the Lalbaugcha Raja queue
Lalbaugcha Raja is Mumbai's best-known Ganpati, and devotees wait hours for darshan. This year seven brands set up along that wait. BIG FM moved its studio there and ran the festival as a radio property, with live aarti and visarjan coverage. Two partners came with it: Citroën as driving partner, with a car showcase and massage chairs, and Uber, with free first rides and a contest for VIP darshan.
RR Kabel put in phone charging, a selfie kiosk and bottle-collection booths. Signify cooled the queue with its EcoLink fans. Pulse let devotees send Bappa a digital offering, carried by an animated Mushak. Combiflam MS Cream came back for a second year with leg-massage chairs in the darshan line.
Two of the seven brought massage chairs. Most of them were selling the same thing, relief for people who had been standing for hours.
Ganesh Chaturthi 2026: everyone wanted the mouse
Ganesha rides a mouse, Mooshak, and in 2026 he worked for brands, delivery apps first. Zepto had Mumbai whisper wishes into a giant Mooshak's ear, an old ritual that sits close enough to a promise of delivery in minutes that the brand never had to say so. Ownly drove a giant Mooshak around Hyderabad's pandals as “Bappa's Delivery Partner”. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank put one on a van to visit old-age homes, and the lender Prefr moved the whispered wish into Instagram DMs.
The modak did the rest. Instamart built a 20 kg one and dared people to hold it for 20 seconds. bigbasket's Modak Meter on Carter Road measured how loudly Mumbai could chant Ganpati Bappa Morya. Britannia shaped Bourbon biscuits into one, and Chheda's put a giant modak box that opens and shuts on a Mumbai hoarding.
Which Diwali ads are out so far?
The first came from the World Gold Council on 14 September, 55 days out: a new bride at her first Diwali with her husband's family, welcomed by a ring passed from cousin to cousin. BBDO India made it. Most of the rest arrived in October, and most have a known face. Triptii Dimri is in Tanishq's Adhyantara, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon in Fossil's, Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth in Indriya's, and Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh in HDFC Bank's.
Cadbury Celebrations went without one. Ogilvy India's film has neighbours who fight all year over parking, pets and noise, and make up over a box.
| Date | Brand | Ad and cast | Agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep | World Gold Council | First Diwali | BBDO India |
| 23 Sep | Cashfree | Mithai Joint FamilyBiswa Kalyan Rath | |
| 24 Sep | The Body Shop | Spark Your Inner Radiance | |
| 30 Sep | KisaanSay | Indian dry fruits Diwali campaign with Baba SehgalBaba Sehgal | |
| 1 Oct | OnePlus India | #MakeItSpecialSmriti Mandhana, Vishnu Kaushal, Govind Kaushal, Nicole Concessao | In-house (OnePlus India) |
| 6 Oct | Fossil | Diwali 2026 campaignVarun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon | |
| 7 Oct | California Almonds | Badam for EveryBuddy | |
| 7 Oct | Realme | #RealWaliDiwali | |
| 8 Oct | Indriya | Festival of LoveAditi Rao Hydari, Siddharth | Ogilvy (West) |
| 10 Oct | Tanishq | AdhyantaraTriptii Dimri | TBWA\Lintas |
| 12 Oct | boAt | Upgrade to boAtRavi Kishan, Shreya Kalra, Sufi Motiwala | |
| 12 Oct | Cadbury Celebrations | Diwali neighbours campaign | Ogilvy India |
| 12 Oct | Home Centre | Decked For DiwaliRanveer Brar | |
| 12 Oct | Tupperware | #HarDiwaliTupperwarewaliDia Mirza | |
| 12 Oct | HDFC Bank | Treat With All Your HeartRiteish Deshmukh, Genelia Deshmukh |
Which festive ads were made with AI?
Five festive films on the tracker were made with AI, and four of them were for Ganesh Chaturthi: Crompton's film for its smart pump controller, Excitel's puja joined by relatives over a video call, Probus Insurance's festival told by the pandal itself, and ZEE5 Marathi's, made by TheSmallBigIdea. The fifth is Motorola's rooftop party for the festive season, set to a reworked “It's the time to disco”.
Diwali ads in the UAE: the pitch is the gold rate
The first Diwali campaigns in the UAE are out, and the jewellers are selling timing. Bhima asks for 10% upfront to lock today's gold rate. Mothers Gold makes the same offer while prices keep moving. Tanishq's Gulf boutiques pair “Share the light” with savings on making charges and old-gold exchange. BurJuman, the Dubai mall, turned Diwali into a filmy talent hunt with AED 10,000 in gift cards, followed by a draw for a Jetour T1.
Every ad here is on our Diwali and festive ads 2026 tracker, with its film or post and the article it came from. The table above grows as new Diwali films launch.