From attention to retention: How India’s ad industry is redefining creative impact

For years, creativity in advertising was measured by how effectively it could disrupt attention—stop the scroll, spark a spike, or trend for a day. In 2025, that definition began to shift meaningfully.

According to senior industry leaders, Indian advertising is now moving away from the attention economy toward a “retention economy,” where creative impact is defined by relevance, value and longevity rather than momentary fame.

Kalpesh Patankar, Group Chief Creative Officer, VML India, says the shift was overdue. “For a long time, creativity was about disruption—who could shout the loudest,” he explains.

He says, “But disruption without direction is just noise. The campaigns that truly mattered were not the ones that went viral for a day, but those that became part of culture.”

Beyond virality

Patankar notes that creative impact today is increasingly about solving real human problems or tapping into deep cultural truths, rather than simply broadcasting messages. “The work that endures is work that participates in people’s lives. It doesn’t interrupt—it integrates,” he says.

Artificial intelligence has played a complex role in this transformation. On one hand, AI has strengthened creativity through personalisation at scale, enabling connected brand experiences that extend beyond a single ad.

On the other, Patankar warns of the risk of standardised imagination. “When we over-rely on algorithms to tell us what is safe or effective, brands begin to sound the same. Efficiency rises, but the soul disappears. Real creative impact still requires human intuition and the willingness to take risks.”

Redefining success metrics

Industry leaders agree that brands must rethink how they evaluate creative success. “We’ve been obsessed with immediacy—click-through rates, daily dashboards, short-term sales spikes,” Patankar says. “While these matter, they often measure busyness rather than business. Meaningful impact is about building brand resilience and long-term value.”

Amyn Ghadiali, Country Head – India, Gozoop Creative, echoes this view. “In 2025, creativity in India stopped chasing fame and started chasing effectiveness with cultural relevance,” he says. “A Cannes Lion without business impact is just a very expensive trophy.”

According to Ghadiali, brands that focused solely on vanity metrics plateaued quickly, while those that tracked mindspace, brand salience and long-term demand saw sustained growth. “Creativity compounds—if clients allow ideas to evolve over time,” he adds.

The power of regional storytelling

One of the strongest drivers of creative impact in recent years has been the rise of regional campaigns. Patankar believes these resonate because they are rooted in lived realities rather than global templates. “Scale doesn’t require dilution,” he says. “Some of the most powerful ideas emerge when brands tell stories with cultural fluency instead of generic ambition.”

A notable example is a 2025 regional advertisement featuring Malayalam cinema superstar Mohanlal for Vinsmera Jewels. Directed by ad filmmaker Prakash Varma, the campaign challenged traditional gender stereotypes, with Mohanlal embracing his feminine side in a bold and unexpected portrayal.

The film shows the actor slipping away from a film shoot to try on jewellery and admire himself in a mirror. When Varma appears at the end, he is surprised to find Mohanlal fully decked in jewels—an arresting moment that helped the ad travel widely online.

The response reflects a broader cultural openness among audiences, who increasingly value authenticity over language or format. “When brands listen first and reflect real lives rather than assumed ones, creativity thrives,” Patankar adds.

AI as accelerator, not author

While AI continues to influence execution, industry leaders caution against treating it as a creative shortcut. Ghadiali points out that AI has made average creativity dangerously easy. “When prompts replace perspective, creativity weakens. AI should be the accelerator, not the author,” he says, adding that platforms are increasingly prioritising human-led content.

Yash Kulshresth, co-founder and chief creative officer, ^atom network, agrees. He notes that even high-profile AI-led campaigns—such as Coca-Cola’s AI-driven Christmas film—failed to leave a lasting creative mark. “The output is polished, but the emotional depth is missing,” he says.

Interestingly, while the ad industry criticised the film, consumer sentiment was largely positive. “The magical context of Christmas—Santa, snow, lights—may be an environment where AI performs better. But when it comes to nuanced emotional storytelling, AI still falls short,” Kulshresth adds.

Agency structures under pressure

Structural changes within the advertising business are also shaping creativity. Kulshresth highlights that retainers are shrinking, with brands increasingly preferring project-based engagements for standout work, while daily social and performance tasks are being routed to specialised partners.

“This puts pressure on large networks with high overheads and legacy cost structures,” he says. Independent agencies, by contrast, benefit from agility and lower costs. “They’re faster, hungrier and more flexible.”

However, Kulshresth notes that networks still hold an advantage in global award ecosystems, where scale and peer backing matter. “That recognition brings creative prestige and PR value for brands,” he says.

Creativity as a problem-solving tool

Beyond commerce, creativity is increasingly being viewed as a tool to address real-world problems. Kulshresth points to the rise in digital scams, online fraud and data security breaches, involving losses of thousands of crores.

“If a customer loses their lifetime savings, it’s not just a personal failure—it’s a systemic one. Creativity can help build tools, awareness and solutions at scale,” he says.

In fiscal 2022, the Reserve Bank of India reported 9,103 bank fraud cases across the country. Taking note of this, Kinnect developed HDFC Bank’s ‘Vigil Aunty’ campaign. The character—played by Anuradha Menon of Lola Kutty fame—was designed to humanise the issue of fraud and strengthen the bank’s equity by addressing a real consumer anxiety.

Performance and creativity: not opposites

Contrary to popular belief, performance marketing has not sidelined creativity, industry leaders argue. “Lazy creativity did,” Kulshresth says. Data from ^atom network shows that creatively differentiated ads delivered two to four times better performance outcomes than templated content in 2025.

“People don’t convert because of targeting alone—they convert because something made them feel or think differently,” he adds.

Patankar agrees, noting that performance metrics become problematic only when they are treated as the brief rather than the outcome. “The best work uses data as a starting point, not a constraint,” he says.

The collapsing funnel

Sumera Dewan, Business & Strategy at Talented, highlights another shift reshaping creative impact: the collapse of the traditional marketing funnel. “People scroll, search, shop and share in one breath,” she says. “Tolerance for fluff is gone, and creativity has to earn every moment of attention.”

As a result, ideas must now serve both storytelling and selling at once. “The same idea has to catch the eye, hold attention and drive action—often in a single swipe,” Dewan explains.

She cites the launch of UnderNeat, led by creator Kusha Kapila, as an example where anticipation, insight and cultural sharpness built relevance before the product drop—demonstrating how modern performance-led creativity works.

What defines impact in 2026

Looking ahead, industry leaders agree that visibility alone will no longer define creative success. “Real impact will be measured by how deeply brands participate in people’s lives,” says Patankar.

AI will continue to expand creative possibilities, but originality, cultural intelligence and strategic patience will separate enduring ideas from disposable ones.

As Dewan sums it up: “Attention can be bought. Belief has to be earned. The work that lasts is the work people remember long after they’ve scrolled past.”