In an age where friendships are played out more on screens than in person, and where emotional support comes in the form of playlists, shared memes, or a sarcastic text reply at 2 a.m., brands are beginning to catch up. This year’s Friendship Day campaigns and social media posts didn’t just honour the bond – they dissected its layers.
With Gen Z and millennials redefining connection as something messy, chaotic, and deeply digital, 2025 saw brands moving beyond dreamy montages and soft-focus nostalgia to embrace the reality of modern-day friendships: complicated, unfiltered, and often hilarious.
From meme-worthy humour to storylines rooted in misunderstandings, fights, ghosting, and emotional comebacks – all set within the confines of a group chat – this year’s campaigns and social media posts mirrored the nuances of how friendships actually unfold today.
Whether it was an ice cream named after heartbreak or a prank gone wrong turned into a beer commercial, brands chose to spotlight the kind of friendships that survive pettiness, passive-aggressiveness, and silence, only to bounce back with a meme or dessert drop.
More than ever, these campaigns and creatives were built for social media – designed to be screenshotted, stitched, reposted, and turned into inside jokes. With formats that mimicked tweet threads, stories that felt like carousels, and humour tailored for the scroll, these brand narratives didn’t just celebrate friendship, they understood how it lives and breathes in the digital world.
1. Tinder x Indu Ice Cream
Tinder India teamed up with Mumbai’s Indu Ice Cream for a limited-edition ‘Move On’ collection — four heartbreak-inspired flavours made for Gen Z recovery. With self-care mentions in Tinder bios surging 4x, the campaign taps into the breakup-as-a-reset mindset.
From Dil Ka Falooda and Your Ex’s Tears to Toxic Expresso and Not Your Match Ya, each scoop turns romantic chaos into cold dessert closure. Available on Swiggy and Zomato in Mumbai, the collaboration is both a PR stunt and a strong cultural read: self-love sells, and heartbreak can be brand-building.
2. TATA Starbucks
Starbucks’ Friendship Day film titled #FromFirstsToForever is an ode to low-key loyalty — the everyday friendships that survive life’s seasons. Set inside a store, the film captures a Gen Z gang, work buddies, and an older friend group celebrating small wins over familiar cups. The storytelling leans on shared routines, not grand gestures. With every sip and subtle glance, the film reminds us: some friendships grow quieter with time, but never less meaningful.
3. Bingo!
Bingo! flips the Friendship Day cliché by spotlighting the forgotten friend — the BFF who got benched once bae arrived. With its signature irreverence, the campaign shows just how quickly replies slow down, weekend plans vanish, and Instagram feeds turn into #CoupleGoals. Digital shorts, influencer collabs, and the #FF (Forgotten Friend) movement nudge sidelined besties to call it out — and maybe win some brand goodies while they’re at it.
4. Medusa
Medusa’s film captures a familiar vibe: a joke gone wrong, a birthday prank that backfires, and the unspoken rule that friends forgive fast — especially over a chilled pint.
When a group smashes cake on a friend’s face, the fallout is tense until someone hands over a Medusa. The message is light: ‘Dosti mein mazaak toh chalta hai… par jab kuch zyada ho jaaye, toh Medusa chalti hai.’ For a Gen Z beer brand, it’s a clever balance of relatability, brand tone, and emotional reset.
5. Parle-G
Parle-G’s Friendship Day film steps away from schoolyard nostalgia to spotlight a quieter evolution: the bond between a mother and daughter. As the daughter debates who deserves her ‘Bestie’ band, she realises her mom already checks every box: trust, support, and unconditional love. The brand’s emotional storytelling lands softly reminding audiences that friendship doesn’t always begin with jokes and hangouts. Sometimes, it’s made over tiffin boxes and bedtime chats.
6. Elver
D2C electronics brand Elver released a delightful animated film featuring two earbuds — not just as devices, but as subtle stand-ins for modern friendship. In the video, one earbud strays too far and starts to run low. The other notices and gently tugs it back into the charging case. No words. Just quiet support. The metaphor is clear: in a world where big gestures get all the attention, real friends still notice the small stuff. Elver’s clever, non-preachy execution makes this campaign stand out in both form and function.
7. Swiggy
8. Dabur
9. Amul
10. Old Spice India
11. Manforce
12. Dove
13. FNP
14. Instaxindia
15. Croma
16. Flipkart
17. Pringles
18. McDonald’s India x Coca-Cola
