Here are some progressive Raksha Bandhan ads that have tried to break stereotypes

• Traditionally, the festival of Raksha Bandhan celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters. Sisters tie rakhis to their brothers and brothers vouch to protect them in return.
• In today's context, the festival might seem a little patriarchal because lets be honest, not all sisters need to be protected and well, at times our brothers need some protecting too. However, over the years, a lot of brands have tried to change the narrative.
• We list a few ads that have tried to break stereotypes, by trying to get over the traditional meaning of the festival and telling us really progressive stories around the festival.

Every year, Raksha Bandhan becomes an occasion to celebrate one of the sweetest bonds in our lives, the love between siblings.

For years, we have witnessed the ad world tell beautiful stories around this bond that siblings share. A lot of the campaigns bring out the camaraderie, love and protectiveness in the relationship. While a lot of brands have often taken a traditional look at the festival, coming up with stories revolving around a brother and a sister, in the past few years, we've witnessed a change.

While for the longest time, the narrative has been about a brother protecting his sister, now a lot of brands take a more progressive view and talk about how a lot of sisters protect their brothers too, and it’s no longer restricted to one gender having an upper hand over the other. It's been refreshing to see brands making an attempt to break stereotypes and change the narrative.

Many have also broadened the scope of the festival further, not simply restricting the festival to the bond between brothers and sisters. Over the years, we have seen ads where sisters talk about the role their elder sister has played in their lives, or the armed forces play in all our lives. There have also been campaigns where

This year we already saw a campaign by The Man Company take a different route in its ad where we saw Ayushmann Khurrana talk about his sister being his protector rather than the other way round.


We scouted the internet to look for some ads that have over the years done a good job in breaking stereotypes and changing the narrative.

Here are our favourite picks:

Tanishq - Celebrating sisterhood

This ad is beautiful for the beautiful and yet simple story-telling. Its simplicity makes it resonate with so many of us.


Amazon's #DeliverTheLove

What makes this Amazon ad beautiful is the fact that despite being an online marketplace, the ad is stressing more on the fondness and love that this sister feels for her brother rather than focusing on the gifting bit, which is what traditionally most Raksha Bandhan ads talk about.



Gits Foods

There are so many people in our lives who ‘protect’ us by silently watching over us. This ad is a dedication to ‘all the bhaiyyas in our lives.’


Ferns N Petals - Rakhi from Brother

This ad also talks about how a sister has always protected her younger brothers from all the troubles and therefore equally deserves a Rakhi tied to her wrist.


ICICI Lombard - Promise of Protection

Featuring the younger brother of Olympic medalist Mary Kom, this beautifully narrated ad tugs at your heartstrings.


Shopper’s Stop

For a lot of us, house helps don’t just remain that, they become an intrinsic part of the family. This ad celebrates the love we share with these special people in our lives.