Raksha Bandhan continues to offer brands a rich cultural canvas to explore the evolving relationship between siblings. This year, campaigns move beyond the traditional themes of protection and gifting, bringing humour, financial planning, technology, health, social responsibility and even pet companionship into the conversation. From Hyundai India challenging the idea that protection is a one-way promise to AJIO turning missed Rakhi gifts into a playful debt, brands are finding new ways to make the festival relevant to contemporary audiences. Here’s a look at the second part of Raksha Bandhan campaigns that stood out this year.
Hyundai India
Raksha Bandhan has long been associated with the familiar line, “Bhai ko saath leke jaana,” reflecting the traditional idea that protection belongs to brothers. This Rakhi, Hyundai India turns that notion on its head with a campaign featuring an older sister stepping out with her much younger brother, Vansh, who takes on the role of her self-appointed safety guardian. Despite his small stature, Vansh reminds her about her phone, seatbelt, speed and keeping her eyes on the road, bringing out the playful sibling dynamic while highlighting that care does not flow in just one direction. Through the film and carousel, Hyundai reframes safety as a shared promise, where sisters can lead, brothers can remind, and every journey becomes safer when siblings look out for one another. This Rakhi, the promise goes both ways.
Tata Mutual Fund
This Raksha Bandhan, Tata Mutual Fund brings a fresh perspective to the timeless bond between brothers and sisters with ‘Behenein apne bhaiyon ko ek behetar insaan banaati hain!’, the latest edition of its investor education campaign. Presented through a blend of stand-up comedy and poetry, the campaign features comedian and performer Rajat Sood, who explores the many shades of the sibling relationship, from playful fights and childhood secrets to the quiet support that endures through difficult moments, before moving to the message that celebrating a sister’s dreams can also mean helping her plan for them.
Built around the thought that sisters make their brothers better people, the film uses humour, nostalgia and relatable anecdotes to highlight their role as sources of guidance, care and encouragement, while reminding brothers that support can extend beyond traditional gifts and gestures. The film concludes by encouraging viewers to consider Raksha Bandhan as an opportunity to plan for a loved one’s future through sensible financial planning, including Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs), and reinforces the importance of long-term financial discipline and goal-based investing. The Raksha Bandhan special is part of Tata Mutual Fund’s ‘Mehfil e-fund’ investor education campaign, which uses stories, poetry, comedy and other engaging formats to simplify financial concepts and bring investor education closer to everyday conversations and experiences.
Star Health
Star Health has brought a fresh perspective to Raksha Bandhan gifting through two films built around a simple thought: while the Rakhi itself lasts a few weeks, the promise that comes with it is meant to last a lifetime. The films ask why the gift of protection should have an expiry date, bringing health insurance into a gifting conversation traditionally dominated by mithai, money, jewellery and last-minute Amazon orders. Adding another layer to the campaign, both films were created entirely by Star Health’s in-house team using AI, with characters developed as reference sheets and maintained consistently across shots while the creative execution was handled internally.
Axis Bank
Released around Raksha Bandhan, Axis Bank’s latest campaign draws a poignant parallel between the bond shared with a sister and Assam, one of India’s Seven Sisters, which is currently grappling with the devastating impact of floods. The film encourages people to extend the spirit of Raksha Bandhan beyond the symbolic tying of a Rakhi by lending a helping hand to Assam in its time of need, reinforcing the message of standing together with compassion, care and support.
IndusInd General Insurance
IndusInd General Insurance Company Ltd (formerly known as Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd) has launched its Raksha Bandhan campaign, celebrating the reassurance that comes from knowing someone will always be there when it matters most.
AJIO
Across India, Rakshabandhan is celebrated in countless ways, with each region adding its own flavour to the festival of sibling love. Through its ‘One India, Many Celebrations’ initiative, AJIO celebrates the diverse traditions and expressions that make India’s festivals unique. This Rakshabandhan, it brings a playful twist to a universal sibling expectation—the Rakhi gift—with its ‘Rakhi Recovery Abhiyaan’, a light- hearted campaign created in partnership with 22feet, part of Omnicom Advertising India. Built on the premise that every missed Rakhi gift is a debt waiting to be recovered, the campaign introduces the AJIO Rakhi Recovery Calculator, available exclusively on the AJIO app, where sisters can enter their age and their brother’s age to calculate what they are ‘technically owed’ for missed Rakhi gifts over the years. Going beyond basic arithmetic, the calculator factors in inflation, gold prices, Sensex trends, planetary alignment and emotional damage to arrive at a final ‘recovery amount’. Users can then generate an official ‘Rakhi Recovery Notice’ addressed to their brother, detailing the amount due along with a link to AJIO to help settle the outstanding gift.
McDonald’s India – North & East
This Raksha Bandhan, McDonald’s India – North and East celebrated the original buddies in our lives-our siblings-by turning their stories into a part of the brand’s real-world communication. Through a consumer-led activation, McDonald’s invited fans to share their favourite sibling stories, with eight selected stories brought to life across 16 McDonald’s billboards across the North and East region.
Trackon
This Raksha Bandhan, Trackon is celebrating the unexpected connections that can emerge during everyday journeys. Through its latest festive film, Trackon brings alive the human emotion behind every delivery, showing how a parcel carries not just something to be delivered, but a feeling, a memory and the warmth of a relationship.
Anmol Biscuits
This Raksha Bandhan, Anmol Biscuits turns the spotlight on a truth every sibling knows, that love between a brother and sister is rarely spoken, and almost never apologised for. Under its ongoing #HarPalAnmol campaign umbrella, the brand’s latest film reminds us that siblings don’t say sorry, they simply show it. Anmol Industries chose to break convention by releasing the film on Raksha Bandhan itself, aligning the launch with the story it set out totell. The film, “Sorry Bolega, Ki Nahi?”, captures this everyday, unspoken bond with humour, honesty, and a mockumentary twist, proving once again that the strongest apologies are the ones that are never actually said out loud.
Bakingo
This year, Bakingo is reviving the joy of engaging in a friendly rivalry that characterizes most sibling relationships with their latest campaign –‘Hisaab Barabar with Bakingo’.
Farmley
This Raksha Bandhan, Farmley is taking the age-old sibling squabble of “yeh mera, yeh tera” straight to the streets. The healthy snacking brand has teamed up with quick-commerce platform Blinkit for a high-impact out-of-home (OOH) advertising campaign for its Date Bites range, positioning it as the contemporary alternative to traditional festive sweets.
Vinod Intelligent Cookware
This Raksha Bandhan, Vinod Intelligent Cookware looks beyond the conventional brother-sister narrative to celebrate the bond between children and their pets, highlighting the idea that relationships may have labels, but love does not. Through its latest digital campaign, the Indian cookware brand explores how pets often become confidants, playmates and, simply, siblings for children growing up with them. The campaign brings this contemporary interpretation of Raksha Bandhan to life through a creator-led Instagram initiative featuring five pet creators and their pet-centric communities.
