Kantar has unveiled the winners of its Creative Effectiveness Awards (CEA) India 2026, recognising advertising campaigns that have resonated most strongly with consumers and delivered business impact in 2025.
The awards have been based on Kantar’s testing of more than 13,000 creatives globally during 2025, including over 1,500 advertisements from India. The company has analysed more than 250 ads across categories, audiences, regions and media platforms to identify the campaigns that performed most effectively with consumers.
Among the campaigns recognised this year have been Cadbury Dairy Milk’s ‘New Neighbour’, KitKat’s ‘Break par sirf KitKat Break!’, Tata Salt’s ‘Vidaai’, Dettol Antiseptic Liquid’s ‘Shaadi Ka Ghar’, Taj Mahal Tea’s ‘Pehle Aap’, Medimix’s ‘Nakhrewali to Nikharwali Skin’, Dexogrow’s ‘Vidhayak’, Lux Sandal’s ‘Khud K Liye’, Wheel’s ‘Reel Bharat’ and McDowell’s ‘First with Friends’.
Rather than highlighting a single winning formula, Kantar’s analysis has pointed to a broader trend shaping advertising effectiveness in India. According to the report, the strongest campaigns have been rooted in local culture, relatable human truths and storytelling that integrates brands naturally into everyday situations.
The report, themed ‘ROOTED in India’, has found that the most effective campaigns have consistently captured attention through familiar human experiences, driven consideration through relevant brand integration and built long-term brand equity through culturally resonant narratives.
According to Kantar, campaigns such as Cadbury Dairy Milk’s ‘New Neighbour’, Wheel’s ‘Reel Bharat’, Dettol’s ‘Shaadi Ka Ghar’ and Tata Salt’s ‘Vidaai’ have demonstrated how brands can build stronger consumer connections by reflecting community bonds, cultural rituals, family relationships and local aspirations.
The winners were recognised across four categories — Hindi Speaking Markets, Non-Hindi Speaking Markets, Digital and Bharat Connect, which focuses on campaigns that connect with both urban and rural audiences.
Alongside the awards, Kantar has released insights on creator effectiveness and evolving media consumption patterns. The company has found that creator content impact has increased by 77%, while 43% of campaign impact now comes from channel synergy, compared with 18% a decade ago. However, only 27% of creator content has effectively linked back to the brand, indicating a gap between reach and effectiveness.
The report has further noted that campaigns combining creator content with branded content have delivered up to 43% contribution to sales, outperforming either approach used in isolation. Kantar has also found significant performance differences between creative assets within the same campaign, reinforcing the importance of maintaining quality while scaling content production.
Commenting on this year’s winners, Soumya Mohanty, Managing Director & Chief Solutions Officer, South Asia, Kantar, said, “Across categories, brands and audiences, this year’s winners shared one thing in common: they were built on a deep understanding of Indian consumers. Whether through community, culture, aspiration, identity or everyday life, the most effective campaigns transformed authentic human insights into compelling brand stories. Their success demonstrates that creativity is most powerful when it feels relevant, meaningful and deeply connected to people’s lives.”
Prasanna Kumar, EVP & Head of Creative, Kantar, added, “The way marketing effectiveness is built is fundamentally changing. As media becomes increasingly fragmented, success will depend less on creating more content and more on creating connected creative ecosystems, where ideas, channels and executions work seamlessly together. In this environment, clear and consistent brand expression across every touchpoint becomes the foundation for driving meaningful impact and growth.”
