How Brands Across Categories Took Their Shot At Being Pally With Audiences This Friendship Day

A good friend is a connection to life- a tie to the past, a road to the future and the key to sanity in a totally insane world. This is a common phrase that people use when reminiscing about the best times spent with friends.

And just like that, it has almost become a customary practice for brands to also connect and engage with their respective audiences on a regular basis, via moment marketing campaigns and what better day to strike the right chord with people than Friendship Day.

Celebrated on the first Sunday of August, Friendship Day was something that was pioneered by the greeting card industry initially but later gained popularity in markets like India with the onset of social media platforms in the digital age. So much so, today it has almost become a tradition for people to strike conversations with friends and stay connected via Reels, Shorts, Post, and more.

That being said, the essence of friendship truly lies in having ‘a bond without conditions, built on pure love and affection’ and hence, Marketing Mind has prepared a list of ad campaigns and social media posts executed by the brand land in India to celebrate this special bond on the occasion of Friendship Day 2024.

Here’s how brands celebrated Friendship Day 2024:

1. Bhuvam Bam x Zomato

Bhuvan Bam has collaborated with Zomato, one of India’s renowned food ordering platforms, for a Friendship Day in-app campaign called ‘Friendship Ki Band’ wherein the brand has given a playful twist to Friendship Day celebrations by allowing users to create fun and entertaining videos that highlight the quirks and traits that make their friendships special.

The campaign plays on the dual meaning of ‘band’, referring to the friendship bands traditionally exchanged on Friendship Day and to the Hindi slang for ‘roasting’ and as part of ‘Friendship Ki Band’, people can easily participate by selecting a friend type from the given options- ‘The always busy friend’, ‘The always lazy friend’, ‘The lost in love friend’ and ‘The always broke friend’ and generate a personalized humorous video featuring BB’s signature comedic style, delivering a light-hearted roast that perfectly matches the chosen personality type of their friends.

 

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A post shared by Bhuvan Bam (@bhuvan.bam22)

2. Parle-G

To celebrate Friendship Day, Parle-G has launched a heartfelt campaign which embraces the essence of true friendship, contrasting it with the often impersonal nature of social media.

With the tagline, “Genius wohi, jo auron ke khushi mein paye apni khushi,” the new campaign film delves into the heart of authentic friendships, resonating with audiences across all age groups.

Conceptualised by Thought Blurb Communications, the campaign tells the story of a group of friends standing on the cusp of stepping into life after college, who together rally around a friend who needs a little cheer and encouragement before his campus interview, highlighting the beauty of supporting one another in times of need.

3. BookMyShow

One of India’s leading entertainment destination- BookMyShow also took to digital media to celebrating the element of friendship with its fun and engaging #BestieBingo campaign.

Acknowledging the uniqueness of the friendships, BookMyShow invited users to celebrate their friends’ one-of-a-kind personalities, albeit as a movie buff, drama queen, or culture enthusiast, by gifting them BookMyShow gift cards which allow users to unlock a world of entertainment experiences to keep their social lives vibrant and full of excitement.

4. Honor

To celebrate the unconditional bond of friendship, HONOR, a smart device brand, also launched a campaign called ‘Friendship Zara Hatke’ with an aim to break all stereotypes and to celebrate unconventional friendships that enrich people’s lives—friendships that transcend age, generational gaps, and cultural boundaries.

Whether it’s a student sharing a laugh with the hostel guard, a granddaughter teaching her granddad how to play games on a smartphone, or the neighbor’s uncle joining the young boys for a game of cricket, these bonds, though not labeled as friendships, are just as meaningful and cherished, it advocated in the campaign.

5. Archies

Archies, a gifting brand has launched a digital campaign for Friendship Day, titled #FriendshipByChance to invite the masses to join the celebration by sharing their one-of-a-kind friendship stories on @archiesonline platform. Additionally, the brand has also rolled out exclusive Friendship Day merchandise to commemorate friendships which are available both- online and in stores.

 

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A post shared by Archies Online (@archiesonline)

6. ixigo

In a delightful nod to Friendship Day, ixigo, one of India’s leading OTA for the Next Billion Users,  partnered with ConfirmTkt to roll out a fun video on social media to celebrate the day through the launch of an imaginary feature ‘Friend Running Status’ which can track one’s friends in a similar way that people track trains. 

The ‘Friend Running Status’ is a play on ixigo and ConfirmTkt’s popular train feature ‘Train Running Status’ which gives travellers live updates on their train’s exact location, real time delay and estimated time of arrival. The video humorously showcases the realistic and often amusing excuses friends use to cancel plans, adding a witty twist to the concept of tracking.

 

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7. Zupee

Popular skill-based Ludo platform- Zupee also unveiled a fascinating social experiment video to celebrate Friendship Day, this year. The video showcases how individuals from vastly different backgrounds can connect over common interest for ludo, creatively capturing Ludo’s essence of friendship with engaging storytelling and humor.

It presents three unique scenarios: a Gen Z content creator and a millennial coder awkwardly breaking the ice, a South Delhi girl and a West Delhi guy debating their city’s culinary delights, and a tea lover and a coffee aficionado playfully arguing about their beverage preferences. Despite their initial differences, each pair finds common ground and forms friendships through their mutual love for Ludo. 

8.  TATA Starbucks

This time around, for its Friendship Day campaign, Starbucks took to celebrating the occasion with their partners (baristas) in a thoughtful and unique manner true only to Starbucks. Bringing this message to life, Starbucks’ latest campaign titled ‘Starbucks + You’ was conceptualised based on the insight that partners in store form integral bonds with their consumers.

That being said, interacting with them on a daily basis, from knowing their order by heart to celebrating various milestones, they have created a sense of belonging together that goes beyond a transactional relationship as TATA Starbucks as a brand celebrates the power of simple gestures.

 

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A post shared by Starbucks India (@starbucksindia)

9. Godrej

 

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A post shared by Godrej HUB (@godrejhub)

10. Haldirams

 

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A post shared by Haldiram’s Restaurants (@haldirams_restaurants)

11. Nick India

 

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12. Bharat Bill Pay

 

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13. InCred

14. Club Mahindra

15. APL Apollo