Most Talked-About Campaigns From The IndIAA Awards 2025

The 10th edition of the IndIAA Awards 2025, presented by the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), brought together India’s most influential advertisers, agencies, and creative leaders in a grand celebration of storytelling and innovation. 

Arun Srinivas, Jury Chairperson and Managing Director & Country Head, Meta India, spoke about key trends shaping consumption of media. He pointed out that with the  reels and micro dramas ruling the roost, the average scroll time of Gen-Z is now at a diminishing 1.3 seconds. And considering this demographic is at the backbone of consumption, advertisers are required to not just ignite creativity, but use all the tools at their disposal to create resonant campaigns.  

Here are five campaigns that struck a chord with the audience through their emotion, humour, and purpose-driven storytelling:

Nanhi Kali: Lessons From A Football

A young teacher brought a football to her classroom and showed her girls how to play with it. Set in a rural village, a student tells her tale of how that football helped them rethink the purpose of each of their body parts. The monologue starts with “football ne mujhe bataya: yeh sir sirf paani ka matka uthane ke liye nahi bana.” It highlights traditional representations of women that still limit the imagination of women around the world. The last line of the ad “aur goal sirf rotiya nahi hoti” hit the nail on the head. As deserved, Mahindra Group’s ‘Nanhi Kali: Lessons From a Football’ by Ogilvy India was a standout in the Corporate category. 

Achaa Kiya Insurance Liya

General Insurance Council’s ‘Achaa Kiya Insurance Liya’ by Lowe Lintas brought refreshing simplicity to a complex subject, using relatable humour to make financial prudence feel accessible and human. In the ad ‘Mary ki Barfi’, when Mary aunty slipped and broke her bone, her beloved pet Barfi waited around for her. She returned triumphant to tell him about how much of her medical costs were recovered by the insurance premium she had been paying. The campaign followed a real social sentiment — a world where pets have become the closest thing to their humans. Pets can’t access phones, nor can they be told when their human will return and what caused the delay. Touching, and how. 

Aapki Team Mein Kaun?

Combining the best of both worlds was Dream11’s ‘Aapki Team Mein Kaun?’ by Tilt Brand Solutions and ZeroFifty. A clash between egos, Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor are in a fight for relevance and respect. Each punchline snappier than the last, the two-minute, twenty-five seconder brought together cricket powerhouses like Hardik Pandya, Jaspreet Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and more. The ad underscored the indispensable role of humour in storytelling.

#BetaStayfreeLeAana 

Stayfree’s #BetaStayfreeLeAana campaign by DDB Mudra for Kenvue pushed the boundaries of social conversation, challenging stigma and sparking meaningful dialogue around menstruation and gender roles. The ad follows mothers who hand out grocery lists to their sons. Seeing ‘Stayfree’ or sanitary pads on the list puts the boys in a tizz — they’re embarrassed to be seen in public buying sanitary pads. The mothers remind them just how normal menstruation is, and how almost all the women in their lives go through it. A step in the right direction of normalising conversations around menstruation, the campaign, made for Kenvue, was rightly honoured in the ‘Voice of Change’ category.

Socha Bhi Nahin Hoga

Asian Paints’ ‘Socha Bhi Nahin Hoga’ by Ogilvy India reflected how creativity can reimagine even the most familiar categories. The campaign soft launched Asian Paints’ collection of designs by Sabyasachi, giving the world access to ‘designer walls’ through a simple exchange between a young couple. 

Whether tugging at heartstrings or sparking laughter, these campaigns reminded viewers that the best stories don’t just sell — they stay. 

Abhishek Karnani, President, IAA India Chapter, while addressing the gathering, said, “The IndIAA Awards have always stood for creative work backed by insight and purpose. What makes them unique is the integrity of the process — real campaigns shortlisted by editors and judged by top advertisers, the very people who approve great ideas every day.”

Other standout winners included Urban Company, Gabit, Tanishq, Swiggy, MakeMyTrip, and more. Creative agencies such as Ogilvy India, Moonshot, DDB Mudra, Lowe Lintas, and Creativeland Asia were among the evening’s top performers. Media agencies like Madison Media, Wavemaker, Havas Media, EssenceMediacom, Starcom, and IPG Mediabrands also played a vital role in delivering some of the year’s most memorable campaigns.