Raksha Bandhan, a celebration of sibling love, sparks the first flickers of festive excitement in India. For brands and marketers, it’s the curtain-raiser to a season of creativity and commerce. As customer intent to spend increases, so does the volume of topical campaigns by various brands. Rakhi-specific campaigns have been an important part of the festive marketing strategies of brands across categories. However, for the past few years, the pitch of these campaigns has evolved from an interplay of emotions to a more-refined sales-driven approach. With gifting taking centre stage, most brands are using the occasion to push out their varied gifting offerings – right from personalised mementoes & experiential offers to luxurious offerings. This year is no different! Several brands have latched onto the gifting trend in their marketing communication – be it BlinkIt’s ‘Lifafa Kaun Deta Hai’, The Man Company’s ‘Rakhi Rap’, Instax’s ‘Capture Your Rakhi’, or Swiggy Instamart’s ‘Happy Rakhi’.
From Rituals to Fun Celebrations
There has been a huge cultural shift in how Indians celebrate Raksha Bandhan over the past few years. Once rooted in the simple ritual of sisters tying sacred threads on their brothers’ wrists in exchange for a promise of protection, the festival has evolved into a broader celebration of sibling bonds and the nuanced love-hate dynamics that define them. In fact, it is becoming increasingly inclusive, with the tradition extending beyond brothers to sisters, friends, neighbours, and even members of the broader community, reflecting a shift toward a more gender-agnostic and relationship-agnostic expression of love & protection. Therefore, gifting fits in naturally with the modern form of the festival.
Speaking about the shift, Sanjay Vakharia, CEO, Spykar, tells IMPACT, “Traditionally, Raksha Bandhan has been about what brothers give their sisters. However, today we wish to create a world with no such gender divide in sibling love. We believe we’re special due to our inclusivity, modernity, and reflecting the truth of changing dynamics of sibling relationships in life.”
The brand has, therefore, extended its annual ‘#ThreadsOfLove’ campaign this Raksha Bandhan to challenge this norm by creating a platform that celebrates the unique and powerful connection shared by all siblings. “At the centre of our campaign, “Threads of Love,” is a hamper carefully curated to resonate with the young, restless spirit. We have created a gift that would be all-encompassing in the choice of the random elements, from fashion accessories to personal care products making its appeal really broad and very true to the Rakhi gifting experience,” Vakharia adds.
Apart from the shift in the core ideology behind Rakhi gifting, there has been a transformation of the design language as well. Go Desi spokesperson highlights, “We at Go Desi want to give our consumers a bespoke, handcrafted gifting experience and leverage our Rakhi gift box to establish this proposition. Go Desi stands out amongst its competition because Rakhi is not just another occasion to sell more, for us it is as special as it is for every Indian family. We do not copy-paste last year’s designs, play safe and call our boxes season’s greetings.
Every year we create a unique design in limited quantities. This year we have a take on the timeless nature of the brother-sister relationship creatively christened, ‘siblings in every universe’.”
Changing Ideas of Protection & Safety
The modern liberal social discourse has also brought in a significant shift in how people perceive women’s safety. The idea that they need the protection of a man is now contested, which is now transforming the core of this traditional festival. Several brands have made commentary in this regard with various campaigns. This Rakhi, feminine care brand Sirona has used the same thread of thought to promote its pepper spray as a gifting option.
Anika Wadhera, Head of Marketing, Sirona elaborates, “Raksha Bandhan has evolved beyond just a traditional celebration; it now represents a broader sense of protection and care, making it a key occasion in the marketing calendars of many brands. At Sirona, we recognise this shift and leverage Raksha Bandhan to promote meaningful gifting beyond material items. This year, our campaign is centred around the theme of safety and empowerment, spotlighting the stark contrast between the security men often take for granted and the vigilance women must maintain. The campaign features our ‘Impower Self-Defence Pepper Spray’, a practical tool designed to bridge this safety gap. What sets our approach apart is the focus on a real, pressing issue—women’s safety—and offering a solution that resonates deeply with our audience.”
Putting Brothers In Focus
While earlier rakhi gifting was centred around mostly women, with brothers digging in their pockets to mark the occasion, men are also getting special attention now. There are enough gifting options that have been curated specially for men, which sisters can send in with love.
Speaking about the trend, Jatin Luthra, Head of Marketing, The Man Company shares, “For the past four-five years, we have been witnessing a rise in gifting for men during Rakhi period. We have seen an uptick in our sales too during this period like several other occasions including Father’s Day & Valentine’s Day. While we always have had gifting boxes for men in our portfolio, this is the first time that we are running a big campaign to promote this on Rakhi. Earlier, we were only running programmatic ads during this festival.”
The brand has released a ‘Rakhi Rap’ to pitch its men’s grooming gift boxes this year. Luthra tells us more about the campaign, “The tactical objective behind the campaign was to latch on to this trend of women buying gifts for their brothers during Rakhi. We chose the medium of a rap to create a fusion between the traditional festival and a modern entry into the Indian entertainment space. An all-female cast ensured that we are going beyond our normal TG, that is men between the ages of 20 and 40, to reach the women. We created a very relatable narrative in the rap, which talks about the usual love-hate bickering between siblings yet highlighting how brothers continue to remain ‘a gentleman’ when it comes to protecting their sisters. Having women gifting grooming products to men also brings in a certain kind of validation and authenticity as they are more aware about these things.”
Tech Dominating Emotional Threads
Modern technology like artificial intelligence (AI) has further revamped traditional gifting for festive occasions. This Raksha Bandhan, brands like Swiggy Instamart & Mondelez have used AI to create bespoke gifting options – while the former has teamed up with social media star Rakhi Sawant to design unique rakhis and send in personalised messages, the latter is letting customers create photos of the uncaptured moments.
Nitin Saini, VP Marketing, Mondelez India quips, “Incorporating AI into ‘Cadbury Celebrations’ isn’t just about staying on trend; it’s about offering people a chance to relive and preserve the moments that define their relationships, essentially providing personalisation at a large scale. #CreatingMemoriesNeverClicked campaign encourages brothers to transform those unphotographed, often overlooked moments with their sisters into treasured memories through the power of AI. By recreating these personal moments as high-quality images and printing them on Cadbury Celebrations boxes, the gift transcends its physical form. It becomes a personal keepsake that captures the emotional essence of sibling relationships, offering brothers a way to express their feelings in a deeply meaningful manner.”
Ecommerce further strengthens the gifting story as Shitu Patil, Joint National Creative Director, Publicis India explains, “E-commerce, like every other form of gifting, has made rakhi gifting more convenient and personalised. The choices have expanded, with many more options beyond the regular mithais and chocolates. Big brands have connected deeply with culture, bringing gifting back to its core: an expression of love and thoughtfulness, especially in brand campaigns. But today’s modern brands don’t restrict themselves to just that. The combination of data and AI offers a playground of possibilities for creating personalised content at scale.”
