Paper Details

Name: Kapil Chowdhury
Country: India

Year: 2026
Volume: Vol-13, Issue-2, Year-2026 ( July- December)
Page Number: 149-157
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22689905

Advertising does more than just sell products in India: it sells belonging, aspiration, nostalgia, and moral virtue. Why do Indians respond so powerfully to ads with emotional appeal? And what specifically makes Indian ads resonate? Answering these questions required that I not simply “measure” Indian ads’ emotional appeal but rather closely examine how emotional meaning is both constructed and attached to products through the strategies of branding. This paper will present a qualitative investigation into the cultural logics behind successful emotional appeal in Indian ads based on thematic analysis of three Indian advertising case studies — Amul, Cadbury Dairy Milk, and Hindustan Unilever’s Surf Excel detergent ads — drawing conclusions about how emotional appeal functions and resonates in Indian contexts. Five key registers emerged from analysis: nostalgia, familial togetherness, moral virtue and generosity, humour and wit, and festival-anchored belonging. Overall findings suggest Indian ads with emotional appeal succeed by mixing apparently “universal” emotions with culturally specific language referencing shared rituals, celebrations, and social textures. Further research and practical implications are discussed for those who wish to utilise emotional appeal in brand advertising campaigns while avoiding ethical or cultural missteps in a plural society where poorly received ads can damage customer relationships.

Keywords: Emotional Appeal; Indian advertising; Brand Storytelling; Consumer Culture Theory; Cultural Branding.