Cadbury Celebrations gifts celebrity ads to hundreds of local businesses this Diwali

Cadbury Celebrations has rolled out a campaign for the second edition of its 2020 initiative ‘Not Just A Cadbury ad’. Conceptualised by Ogilvy, the ad titled ‘Iss Diwali Aap #KiseKhushKarenge?’ (who will you make happy, this Diwali) features actor Shah Rukh Khan and urges people to support local businesses across the country. It aims to help SMEs create unique and scalable avenues of engagement with their consumers.

Although the initiative began in 2020 with the same message, the brand has now enabled small scale businesses and their owners to use Shah Rukh Khan to promote their local brands, using AI-powered technology developed by Rephrase.ai. In the brand film, Khan is seen taking the names of local stores and telling the viewers that he got his products from those local shops around him. 

• Earlier this week, Cadbury and Ogilvy won the Grand Prix in Warc's Asian Strategy Awards for the first edition of this campaign

The initiative will also provide access to consumers and shopkeepers to make an ad for their favourite local store on notjustacadburyad.com

Anil Viswanathan, senior director – marketing, Mondelez India, said, “2020 was whirlwind of a year, followed by an unhurried 2021. The lockdowns proved to be an ambush, especially for small businesses. The launch of the 'Iss Diwali Aap #KiseKhushKarenge' campaign was our way of lending support to those local ventures, helping them build resilience. It is the success of our first edition that inspired us to further take our purpose of generosity at the heart of these businesses and make their 2021 Diwali even more joyful, and we are thrilled to onboard the nation’s most beloved and talented actor, Shah Rukh Khan as the face of the current campaign. We have also partnered with Rephrase.ai who helped us leverage the might of AI, and help local business owners to light up their brands with a special personalized ad. Not only bringing their audiences closer but igniting interest amongst newer ones. Over the years, our products have become an intrinsic part of India’s celebrations. With this effort, we hope for our consumers to not just take home our products, but also live our purpose of small acts of generosity as they welcome the festive fervor with friends and family.”

Sukesh Nayak, chief creative officer, Ogilvy India, said, "The happiness that we generated in 2020 with our first edition of Not just Cadbury ad inspired us to come back with another edition of the idea. We used the power of AI Tech to help numerous small store owners create their very own personalised ads. We hope that this initiative helps boost the sales of small store owners and makes their Diwali sweeter."

Shekhar Banerjee, chief client officer, and west head, Wavemaker India, added, “The massive success of this effort in 2020 prompted us to take it to the next level in 2021, considering Diwali celebrations still haven't returned to pre-covid levels. Consumer and local store outlook is still subdued, and we felt it was relevant this year to continue to extend our support to local retailers. True to our philosophy of leveraging data and tech in crafting all consumer experiences, we have pushed ourselves to greater heights and more inclusivity. We've expanded the scope from 250 pin codes in 2020 to 500 pin codes this year, reaching 2000+ local retailers. This year we're also adding a way for local stores as well as consumers to create their personalised ads and promote themselves or to support their local retailers."

The campaign will be promoted through hyperlocal outdoor ads in different localities with a ticker displaying names from a specific area.