If someone looks back at 2025 to understand where advertising was headed, they won’t need a trend report.
They’ll just need to rewatch the ads.
This was the year brands stopped chasing virality and started participating in culture. Some campaigns were funny. Some were controversial. And some were quietly powerful. But all of them had one thing in common: people talked about them without being asked to.
From meme hijacks and celebrity crossovers to purpose-led storytelling and sharp internet humour, these are the 15 best ads of 2025 that dominated feeds, sparked debates, and truly lived rent-free in our heads.
Best Ads of 2025
1. Bold Care × Samay Raina & Anurag Kashyap
Brand: Bold Care
Agency: The New Thing
Sexual wellness advertising in India has always tiptoed around discomfort. Bold Care didn’t tiptoe. It kicked the door open.
By pairing comedian Samay Raina with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, the brand delivered a brutally honest, hilariously awkward film that normalised conversations around men’s health without sounding preachy.
The brilliance lay in tone: casual, self-aware, and unfiltered. It didn’t explain stigma; it dismantled it through humour.
2. Lay’s – “No Lay’s, No Game”
Brand: Lay’s
Agency: Leo Burnett India
Two global sports icons, Lionel Messi and MS Dhoni, sharing screen space could’ve easily become spectacle.
Instead, Lay’s chose restraint.
No dramatic dialogue. No forced bonding. Just silent respect exchanged through football and cricket. In an era of overproduction, this ad stood out by doing less and meaning more.
3. boAt – “Rock in India” with Purav Jha
Brand: boAt
Agency: Talented Agency
boAt understood something most brands still don’t: you can’t fight internet culture, you have to speak its language.
Using creator Purav Jha, the campaign started as parody, poking fun at trolling and memes, before revealing the scale of boAt’s Make-in-India manufacturing ecosystem.
It was funny first, meaningful second. Exactly how the internet likes it.
4. Swiggy Instamart’s Wedding Rescue Moment
Brand: Swiggy Instamart
Agency: In-house
One of 2025’s most shared brand moments wasn’t even planned.
When a couple missed their wedding reception due to flight delays, Swiggy Instamart stepped in with a baraat-style delivery to recreate the celebration. No hard-selling. No branding overload.
Just empathy, timing, and heart. Proof that the best marketing sometimes happens when you stop marketing.
5. WhatsApp – “Not Even WhatsApp”
Brand: WhatsApp
Agency: BBDO India
Privacy is hard to explain. WhatsApp made it emotional.
With a simple yet powerful line “Not even WhatsApp,” the campaign reinforced end-to-end encryption through everyday moments, supported by narration from Aamir Khan.
In a digital age built on mistrust, this became one of the most reassuring ads of the year.
6. Britannia Croissant × “Prashant” Meme
Brand: Britannia
Agency: Schbang
When “croissant” accidentally became “Prashant” on the internet, Britannia didn’t just jump on the meme, it became the meme.
From temporarily renaming the product to creator-led content, the brand blended seamlessly into pop culture. This wasn’t trend-jacking; it was trend participation.
7. Flipkart – “Celebs Loaded”
Brand: Flipkart
Agency: Leo Burnett India
Was it chaotic? Yes.
Was it subtle? Absolutely not.
Featuring everyone from Amitabh Bachchan to Alia Bhatt, Flipkart leaned into excess for Big Billion Days.
In a world of minimalist ads, this one shouted. And people listened.
8. The Whole Truth – Protein Industry Roast
Brand: The Whole Truth
Agency: In-house
Using humour, music, and exaggeration, The Whole Truth exposed the opacity of India’s protein industry.
The campaign didn’t lecture consumers. It entertained them into understanding ingredient transparency, proving that education works best when it doesn’t feel like homework.
9. Myntra FWD – Cricket Meets Gen Z Fashion
Brand: Myntra
Agency: Dentsu Creative
By bringing together Virender Sehwag, Mandira Bedi, and creator Sahiba Bali, Myntra FWD staged a generational conversation.
Cricket commentary met internet slang, and ₹300 drops became cultural currency.
10. YesMadam × Indian TV Icons
Brand: YesMadam
Agency: Social Panga
Featuring Sakshi Tanwar, Ekta Kapoor, and Divyanka Tripathi, YesMadam used nostalgia to build trust.
The message was simple: self-care can be premium, comfortable, and done at home.
11. Google – Best Phones Forever (Pixel vs iPhone)
Brand: Google
The Pixel–iPhone rivalry returned, sharper and funnier.
By anthropomorphising devices, Google turned feature comparisons into humour-led storytelling, proving that competitive advertising doesn’t have to feel aggressive to be effective.
When iPhone’s plans run afowl, Pixel promptly generates some helpful advice. #BestPhonesForever pic.twitter.com/eTgtqfDS32
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) September 10, 2025
12. Zepto × Haldiram’s – “Mithai Wars 2025”
Brand: Zepto
Agency: Creativeland Asia
Turning Diwali gifting into an election-style vote, this campaign combined culture, participation, and commerce.
Consumers didn’t just buy sweets; they judged them. A perfect example of gamified marketing done right.
13. American Eagle – Sydney Sweeney “Great Jeans”
Brand: American Eagle
Agency: In-house
Loved or hated, this campaign dominated conversation.
Starring Sydney Sweeney, it showed how quickly internet discourse can reshape brand narratives, making it one of 2025’s most dissected ads.
14. Amul’s ColdplayGate Topical
Brand: Amul
Sharp wordplay met ethical debate.
Amul’s take on a viral personal moment reignited conversations about boundaries in topical advertising, reminding brands that relevance always comes with responsibility.
15. McDonald’s – “Taste the Future” AR
Brand: McDonald’s
Agency: DDB India
By integrating AR into packaging, McDonald’s made dining interactive without feeling gimmicky.
This campaign stood out for making technology feel playful, not forced, and for using AR as an enhancer, not a distraction.
Also Read: The Best Christmas Ads of 2025 That Everyone Is Talking About
Why These Were the Best Ads of 2025
What united these campaigns wasn’t budget or scale. It was cultural intelligence.
They understood:
- When to speak
- When to listen
- When to joke
- And when to simply show up
In 2025, the best ads didn’t interrupt feeds.
They belonged there.
