How brands balance cultural fidelity and contemporary relevance

Aarushi Chadha and Hamsini Shivakumar of Leapfrog Strategy Consulting unpack how brands negotiate tradition and modernity in Raksha Bandhan storytelling, shaping both resonance and risks in audience connection

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Hamsini Shivakumar
New Update
RB2025

New Delhi: It’s now common to see brands expand the understanding of a festive occasion (like Karwa Chauth) or a ‘hallmark holiday’ (Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day) to speak to a wider audience through their topical communication. 

An occasion like Karwa Chauth doesn’t just open up the opportunity to speak to women traditionally fasting for their husbands, but also to couples with both the man and the woman fasting for each other

Similarly, Mother’s Day is turned relevant for any person, man or woman, young or old, who has nurtured a being or an idea with the qualities of a mother, by recognising them for it

With Raksha Bandhan recently gone by, this trend has also shown up in how brands have interpreted the traditional idea of celebrating the bond between the brother as guardian to his sister. Some have kept the brother-sister bond as central but reimagined the idea of protection while suggesting that it can flow both ways. Others have chosen to focus on the teasing that characterises sibling interaction. A third set has decentered the brother-sister bond altogether to recognise other bonds of care that provide the woman with a similar nature of support and protection. 

How does this effort at broadening the interpretation of the festival translate for the audience? Does one approach carry greater potential for resonance than the other? And does the quest for greater resonance sometimes come at the risk of losing the essence of the cultural tradition? We have analysed a range of Raksha Bandhan campaigns from this year that attempt to answer these questions by categorising them based on a shared strategy to storytelling. Through this process, we have examined how each approach negotiates the balance between cultural fidelity and contemporary relevance, and what that means for audience engagement and emotional impact. Here’s what we’ve found.

Four main routes to storytelling

The first approach broadly emphasises progressive ideas about gender equality. It champions brothers who find ways to support their sister, acknowledge their agency to make decisions for themselves and vocalise their respect for them, not just as equals, but sometimes also as the wise, elder sibling who has taught them much about life. 

The supportive brother in Zouk’s ad “He never held me back, he just held my bag” celebrates the quiet, everyday support that a brother offers his sister by holding her bag when she confidently steps forward to take on a challenge or savour moments of joy. The act of holding her bag and waiting with it appears to symbolise the deep emotional investment that the brother feels in his sister’s life and the faith that he feels in her strength and choices. The brother from Real’s Rakhi ad “Celebrating the Real Bond of Siblings!”, similarly shows unwavering support for his sister’s life choices. When their family elders express concern over the sister’s choice to take a divorce while she’s pregnant, wondering how she will manage as a single mother, her brother steps in to reassure both them and her. He expresses readiness to parent the child with her, playfully pointing out that the word mama (Hindi for the mother’s brother) already comes with two mothers built in. 

The second set of ads within this space characterise elder sisters as guides to younger brothers in all spheres of life. Tanishq’s short film, “Brothers, Written by Sisters” shows how sisters shape their brothers’ emotional intelligence, empathy and values. How they teach them about equality when it comes to both contributing to the house and claiming its ownership, and watch over them as the brothers learn to navigate their romantic relationships. The ads from MobiKwik and Anmol Industries Ltd. are crafted as an ode to the elder sister in the story, who are described as practically raising their brothers – chiding them for being careless with their studies, teaching them how to ride a scooter and showing them how to behave as ‘gentlemen’. 

This approach to Raksha Bandhan appears to cater to an urban, middle-class audience that resides in the metros and feels unwilling to follow practices that reinforce gender disparity, no matter if those practices represent long-held community beliefs. It refuses a conceptualisation that casts the brother as a solemn guardian and the sister as someone in need of protection. It redefines protection as care and guidance, and depicts scenarios that show how it can also flow the other way. As far as creative license goes, it stands only one step removed from the premise of the festive ritual—still retaining its key identifiers while tweaking them just enough for contemporary times.  

The second approach suggests that anyone who can be protective like a brother can be tied a Rakhi. 

Hershey's India’s “This Rakhi, unwrap remixed rituals with HERSHEY’S” expands the definition of siblinghood by celebrating found family (“to the brother I found along the way), a biological sister and a father who has played ‘every role’ as a dynamic parental figure. The ad reflects a conscious effort to reinterpret Raksha Bandhan through the lens of urban life; it argues for relevance over ritual, even if that means disrupting long-held customs. Online pet store Supertails and GIVA have similarly broadened traditional customs by recognising the beloved pet dog as a protector and, thereby, the rightful recipient of a rakhi as well. The intent with this set of ads overall seems to lie in the act of recognising any relationship that offers care similar to the sibling-bond between a brother and sister. To secularise narratives of guardianship, shifting away from the notion that the active capacity to protect another lies only between male and female siblings.  

It is questionable whether this interpretation of the cultural tradition makes for effective communication. While the idea of support and protection is generally retained, the bond of the brother and sister, that lies at the centre of the tradition, is sidelined for a variety of relationships that don’t hold a direct line of connection with the founding tradition. It can be argued that such a shift dilutes the emotional specificity of Raksha Bandhan by replacing its intimate sibling dynamic with broader notions of care. The storytelling for such ads may have been crafted in favour of greater inclusivity, but it ends up sacrificing the cultural anchoring that makes this festive communication emotionally impactful. 

The third approach chooses to keep the brother-sister bond central to the communication but lightens things up through the contemporary representation of the siblings as simultaneously playful and exasperating. 

Campus Activewear’s “The Annual Gift Review” turns gift-giving into a mock audit that shows a sister take stock of the disappointing string of rakhi gifts she has received over the years, a cycle that finally breaks when the brother gifts her a pair of Campus Activewear’s casual sneakers. Myntra’s “The Rakhi Pledge” executes a similar concept, where a trio of brothers are called upon to pledge to do better on rakhi, instead of unimaginatively getting their sisters a bar of chocolate or desperately grabbing an item from the pile their ex left behind. Flipkart’s “Invoisis” takes a witty turn by letting sisters generate itemised invoices for their lifelong favours, nudging brothers toward thoughtful gifting rooted in acknowledgement. Meanwhile, boAt x BlinkIt’s “The Circle of Shaq” transforms sibling drama into a comedic thriller, where last-minute gifting becomes a peacekeeping mission, delivered in under 10 minutes.

Unlike the first approach, this interpretation doesn’t frame the brother and sister in a serious context. It doesn’t characterise their relationship using sincere notions of protection, support and guidance. Instead, the portrayals lean into the light-hearted aspects of siblinghood that feel more reflective of their everyday bond. Rather than encouraging ideas of lifelong solidarity and reciprocal care, they build on their playful bickering and casual affection. At first glance, this representation may feel less meaningful. The absence of vulnerability, mutual growth, or meaningful safeguarding, whether by brother or sister, can make the narrative feel surface-level, entertaining but not enduring.

However, is it possible that this approach is simply a response to the changing social realities of urban life, where metro residents have grown less committed to the essence of the festival? If so, these ads may be reflecting, not eroding, the evolving emotional landscape of sibling relationships in contemporary India. In fast-paced urban settings, where traditional rituals often compete with modern lifestyles, the sibling bond may no longer prioritise ceremonial acts and rituals. While this shift may seem to dilute the symbolic weight of Raksha Bandhan, it could also be seen as an effort to keep the tradition alive in forms that feel authentic to a generation shaped by different values and rhythms of life.

The final approach is comprised of a more straightforward reminder to the urban audience to enact the custom of tying/sending the Rakhi and purchasing the gift. It doesn’t contextualise the brother-sister bond through a heartfelt narrative, nor does it show them squabbling over what the sister gets for Raksha Bandhan. The ad/branded content could be constructed as a way to bring attention to the product benefit, as done by FNP through “Door ho ya paas, Rakhi banayein khaas”. Or as an entertaining piece of communication that references the nature of the brother-sister bond but doesn’t present a perspective on it, as seen in Instamart’s “Bhaichara on top”. 

This approach prioritises visibility and engagement over emotional depth, using Raksha Bandhan as a seasonal cue rather than a cultural anchor. While it may resonate with audiences seeking light, relatable content or convenient gifting solutions, it risks reducing the festival to a transactional moment, stripped of the layered meanings and intimate connections that give it enduring significance.

Wrapping Up

Striking the balance between cultural fidelity and contemporary relevance may well lie in the dual meaning embedded within the very term Raksha Bandhan. It evokes both the idea of protection and the unique relationship between brother and sister – two elements that are deeply intertwined. To separate one from the other risks diluting the emotional resonance that gives the festival its enduring power.

As observed above, the approach that focuses entirely on raksha and tries to celebrate all bonds of protection tends to lose the relational specificity that gives the day a large part of its meaning. It loses its rooting in the relational dynamic of brother and sister that carries its own history, symbolism and emotional texture. Broadening the scope to include friends, pets, or parental figures arguably risks turning the celebration into a generic act of care.

Similarly, focusing entirely on bandhan or the bond between brother and sister, without integrating ideas of mutual growth and guardianship, diminishes the emotional depth of the relationship—even if it is done to address the growing urban detachment from festive ritual.

To truly resonate with contemporary audiences while preserving the festival’s emotional core, brand storytelling must engage both aspects – raksha and bandhan – in tandem. Not just through ritual but through compelling narratives about volving expressions of care, respect, and shared growth. By acknowledging the shifting dynamics of gender roles, these campaigns can offer a refreshed portrayal of the festival without losing out the essence that has kept it alive to this day.

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