When Shah Rukh Khan appeared in a Cadbury Celebrations ad during Diwali 2021, something felt different from typical celebrity endorsements. India’s biggest Bollywood star wasn’t just promoting chocolate. He was personally asking viewers to shop at specific local stores, calling them out by name. “Head to Keshav Electronics” in one version. “Visit Sharma Footwear” in another.
The same Shah Rukh Khan, the same setting, but 2,500+ different store names across 500+ pincodes. This wasn’t traditional advertising. It was AI-powered hyper-personalization at a scale never attempted before in Indian marketing. That’s exactly what made the Cadbury Shah Rukh Khan campaign revolutionary. And it’s why “Shah Rukh Khan My Ad” represents one of the most effective celebrity collaborations in global advertising history.
Campaign Results:
- Launch: October 2021 (ahead of Diwali celebrations)
- Sales growth: 35% for Cadbury Celebrations during Diwali 2021
- Scale: 2,500+ personalized ads across 500+ pincodes
- Store categories: Fashion, Footwear, Kirana (grocery), Electronics
- March 2024: Named world’s most effective advertising campaign (WARC Effective 100)
- Technology: Rephrase.ai synthetic media, AI-powered video personalization
By March 2024, the campaign had been named the world’s most effective advertising campaign in the WARC Effective 100 rankings, driven 35% sales growth for Cadbury Celebrations during Diwali 2021, and created a blueprint for how brands can use AI and celebrity power to support small businesses while building their own brand equity.
The path from pandemic-struggling retailers to award-winning marketing wasn’t just about technology. It was about generosity, innovation, and understanding that sometimes the best way to sell your product is to help others sell theirs.
Why Cadbury Celebrations Needed Innovation
The Perfect Storm of Challenges
Cadbury Celebrations entered Diwali 2021 facing a perfect storm of challenges. The second wave of COVID-19 had devastated India’s economy. Small retailers, who contributed over 80% of Cadbury Celebrations sales, were struggling for survival. Consumer sentiment was at rock bottom. People didn’t want to celebrate. They wanted to survive.
For Cadbury Celebrations, this wasn’t just a business challenge. It was existential. Diwali gifting accounts for more than 45% of Cadbury Celebrations annual revenue according to Wavemaker data. Unlike impulse purchase chocolates like Dairy Milk, Celebrations is a specially curated gifting assortment. The brand thrives on seasonal demand during festivals where gifting is ritual.
Market Challenges:
- Second wave COVID-19 devastated India’s economy
- Small retailers contributed 80%+ of Cadbury Celebrations sales
- Diwali gifting accounts for 45%+ of annual revenue
- 6 crore (60M) small businesses struggling for survival
- Foot traffic to local stores cratered
- Consumer spending on discretive items down double digits year-over-year
- Small retailers lacked marketing budgets, relied on foot traffic
The numbers painted a grim picture. India had over 6 crore (60 million) small businesses struggling for survival during the lockdown. Foot traffic to local stores had cratered. Consumer spending on discretionary items like festive gifts was down double digits year-over-year. Big brands with deep pockets could advertise their way through the crisis. Small retailers had no such luxury.
The Distribution Dilemma
Here’s what made the challenge unique for Cadbury Celebrations. The brand’s success depends on small local stores stocking product and displaying it prominently during the festive season. These mom-and-pop shops, kirana stores, and neighborhood retailers don’t have marketing budgets. They can’t run ads. They rely on foot traffic and word-of-mouth.
When foot traffic disappeared during COVID-19, these stores became invisible. Consumers shifted to e-commerce and larger retail chains that could afford delivery infrastructure. The neighborhood stores that had built Cadbury Celebrations into India’s favorite gifting chocolate were being left behind.
Distribution Crisis:
- Success depends on small local stores stocking and displaying product
- Mom-and-pop shops, kirana stores lacked marketing budgets
- COVID-19 made stores invisible, consumers shifted to e-commerce
- Neighborhood stores being left behind by larger chains
- If these stores failed, Cadbury’s distribution network would collapse
- Needed to drive traffic back to local retailers across India
If these stores failed, Cadbury’s distribution network would collapse. The brand needed to drive traffic back to local retailers, but how do you advertise for thousands of individual stores scattered across India? The answer required unprecedented innovation.
The Strategic Genius of Shah Rukh Khan
Why SRK Was Perfect for This Campaign
Shah Rukh Khan wasn’t just another celebrity endorser for Cadbury. At 56 in 2021, he was and remains India’s biggest film star, with a career spanning four decades and a fanbase that crosses every demographic. His appeal isn’t limited to one region, language, or age group. From teenagers to grandparents, urban professionals to rural audiences, Shah Rukh Khan commands attention and trust.
Cadbury had partnered with Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassador for Cadbury Celebrations, giving them access to his likeness and voice for advertising. But the traditional model, one ad featuring SRK promoting Cadbury Celebrations, wouldn’t solve the local retailer problem. The brand needed something unprecedented: Shah Rukh Khan promoting not just Cadbury, but specific local stores by name.
SRK’s Strategic Value:
- India’s biggest film star at 56, four-decade career
- Fanbase crosses every demographic: age, region, language
- Appeal spans teenagers to grandparents, urban to rural
- Commands attention and trust across India
- Already Cadbury Celebrations brand ambassador
- Needed to promote specific local stores by name
The AI Technology Behind the Magic
This created a technical challenge that seemed impossible. How do you create thousands of different ads, each featuring Shah Rukh Khan saying a different store name, without spending years in production and millions on reshoots? The answer came from an Indian AI startup called Rephrase.ai.
Rephrase.ai specializes in synthetic media production, using AI for video personalization. The technology works by creating digital avatars of real people, then using machine learning to make those avatars speak new content that was never actually recorded. For the Cadbury Shah Rukh Khan campaign, Rephrase.ai created four different digital avatars of SRK, one for each store category.
Technical Execution:
- Rephrase.ai: Indian AI startup specializing in synthetic media
- Machine learning recreated Shah Rukh Khan’s face and voice
- Lip-sync technology matched mouth movements to new store names
- Four digital avatars: Fashion, Footwear, Kirana (grocery), Electronics
- Dynamic templates personalized in real-time
- Integrated with geolocation data for relevant ads
- Self-serve platform where store owners generated their own ads
Ashray Malhotra, Co-Founder and CEO at Rephrase.ai, explained the significance: “This campaign is a perfect example of how this technology, put to good use, can bring smiles to people’s faces, and help businesses promote themselves, which would have been impossible before.”
The Campaign Execution
2,500+ Personalized Ads at Scale
The Cadbury Shah Rukh Khan “Not Just A Cadbury Ad” campaign launched in October 2021, ahead of Diwali celebrations. The execution combined cutting-edge AI technology with emotional storytelling and practical utility for small businesses. The rollout strategy was unprecedented in scale and sophistication.
In each ad, Shah Rukh Khan appeared in a warm, festive setting holding Cadbury Celebrations. Then came the personalized element: “This Diwali, when you think of buying Cadbury Celebrations, remember [Store Name].” The store name was seamlessly integrated, with SRK’s lips perfectly synced to speak each unique business name.
Rollout Strategy:
- 2,500+ local businesses featured: Stores across 500+ pincodes
- Four store categories: Fashion, Footwear, Kirana (grocery), Electronics
- Multi-platform deployment: Facebook and YouTube served geo-targeted ads
- Self-serve microsite: notjustacadburyad.com allowed store owners to create their own SRK ads
- WhatsApp delivery: Personalized video ads sent as MP4 files for sharing
- Zero cost to retailers: Cadbury gifted its entire advertising budget and celebrity ambassador
The Technical Challenges Overcome
Creating AI-generated personalized video at this scale had never been attempted in India. The Rephrase.ai team faced multiple technical hurdles. The technology is sensitive to slight changes in position and lighting. Shah Rukh Khan’s voice needed to sound natural saying thousands of unfamiliar store names. Lip movements had to sync perfectly or the illusion would break.
The solution required recording base footage in controlled lighting with precise positioning, training AI models on extensive samples of SRK’s voice patterns and speech cadence, using WaveNet or similar vocoder technology for speech synthesis, applying Wav2Lip technology from IIIT Hyderabad for accurate lip-syncing, and creating templates that maintained quality across thousands of variations.
Technical Solutions:
- Recording base footage in controlled lighting, precise positioning
- Training AI models on extensive SRK voice samples
- WaveNet vocoder technology for speech synthesis
- Wav2Lip technology (IIIT Hyderabad) for accurate lip-syncing
- Templates maintaining quality across thousands of variations
- Result: Technically impressive, emotionally resonant
The result was technically impressive but emotionally resonant. When millions of Indians saw Shah Rukh Khan asking them to shop at the store around the corner by name, the impact was profound.
The Generosity Strategy That Changed Everything
Gifting Advertising Resources to Retailers
What made the Cadbury Shah Rukh Khan campaign revolutionary wasn’t just the technology. It was the strategic generosity underlying the entire concept. Cadbury made a calculated bet: the best way to sell Cadbury Celebrations during a crisis wasn’t to push product. It was to help the people who sell the product.
Anil Viswanathan, Senior Director of Marketing at Mondelez India, explained the philosophy: “Akin to last year, this year too, we are keen on supporting local businesses and stores to help them bounce back. Our campaign ‘Not just a Cadbury Ad’ is about highlighting the spirit of generosity and understanding that enabling each other is the way to prosper.”
Strategic Generosity:
- Best way to sell wasn’t to push product, but help sellers
- Small retailers stock and display Cadbury Celebrations
- More foot traffic for retailers = more Cadbury sales
- Gifting advertising resources strengthened distribution network
- Built massive goodwill while serving business objectives
- Not pure altruism, brilliant business wrapped in emotional generosity
This wasn’t pure altruism. It was brilliant business strategy wrapped in emotional generosity. Small retailers stock and display Cadbury Celebrations. If those retailers get more foot traffic, they sell more Cadbury products. By gifting advertising resources to retailers, Cadbury strengthened its own distribution network while building massive goodwill.
The “Not Just A Cadbury Ad” Heritage
This campaign was actually phase 2 of an idea Cadbury launched in Diwali 2020. The first “Not Just A Cadbury Ad” campaign shared Cadbury’s advertising space with local stores through hyper-localized geo-targeting. That 2020 campaign generated so much happiness and positive response that Cadbury decided to amplify it in 2021 with AI and Shah Rukh Khan.
Sukesh Nayak, Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy India, described the evolution: “The happiness that we generated in 2020 with our first edition of Not just Cadbury ad inspired us to come back with another edition of the idea. We used the power of AI Tech to help numerous small store owners create their very own personalised ad.”
Campaign Evolution:
- Diwali 2020: First “Not Just A Cadbury Ad” shared advertising space
- Hyper-localized geo-targeting for local stores
- 2020 campaign generated happiness, positive response
- 2021: Amplified with AI and Shah Rukh Khan
- Tapped into pandemic-era empathy and generosity
- Renewed sense of community lifted spirits and sales
What the Numbers Actually Reveal
35% Sales Growth During Diwali 2021
Strip away the emotional storytelling and AI innovation. Look at the business results. The Cadbury Shah Rukh Khan campaign delivered performance that justified every rupee spent and every risk taken. The immediate impact during Diwali 2021 was substantial: 35% sales increase for Cadbury Celebrations versus prior year, 2,500+ stores promoted across India, 500+ pincodes covered, and massive engagement across Facebook and YouTube.
But the real validation came years later. In March 2024, the WARC Effective 100 rankings named “Shah Rukh Khan My Ad” the most effective advertising campaign in the world for 2023. This wasn’t a creative award. This was effectiveness, measured by business impact, ROI, and proven results.
Business Results:
- 35% sales increase: Cadbury Celebrations during Diwali 2021 versus prior year
- 2,500+ stores promoted: Local retailers across India got free celebrity advertising
- 500+ pincodes covered: Campaign reached consumers in geographic areas nationwide
- Massive engagement: Millions of impressions across Facebook and YouTube
- Store owner adoption: Thousands of retailers created and shared personalized ads
The Global Recognition
The Cadbury Shah Rukh Khan campaign dominated every major advertising effectiveness award in 2023-2024. WARC Effective 100 (2024) ranked it #1 globally for campaign effectiveness. APAC Effie Awards (2022) awarded Gold. Cannes Lions gave multiple nominations for effectiveness and innovation. Campaign Asia rankings placed it as top-ranked effectiveness campaign in Asia Pacific.
Sukesh Nayak’s response to the WARC recognition captured the achievement: “We are thrilled that Cadbury Celebrations ‘SRK My Ad’ has been recognised as the most effective campaign in the WARC Effective 100. This innovative hyper-localization, hyper-personalization idea has brought so much joy and happiness to millions of small shop keepers across India.”
Award Recognition:
- WARC Effective 100 (2024): Ranked #1 globally for campaign effectiveness
- APAC Effie Awards (2022): Gold award winner
- Cannes Lions: Multiple nominations for effectiveness and innovation
- Campaign Asia: Top-ranked effectiveness campaign in Asia Pacific
- Most effective campaign in the world also most happiest campaign
The Broader Business Context
Cadbury’s Market Dominance
Understanding the Cadbury Shah Rukh Khan campaign requires context about Cadbury’s dominance in India’s chocolate market. Mondelez India, Cadbury’s parent company, holds an extraordinary 70% market share in India’s chocolate category, the highest Cadbury brand share globally. This isn’t just market leadership. It’s complete category ownership.
The numbers from recent years demonstrate Cadbury’s business strength. FY 2024 revenue reached â‚ą12,746.98 crore ($1.5 billion+), up 13.3% year-over-year. FY 2024 net profit hit â‚ą2,020.87 crore, up 71.85% from prior year. Market share stands at 70% of India’s chocolate market, with 55.9% specifically in chocolate confectionery.
Cadbury’s Business Strength:
- FY 2024 revenue: â‚ą12,746.98 crore ($1.5B+), up 13.3% YoY
- FY 2024 net profit: â‚ą2,020.87 crore, up 71.85% from prior year
- Market share: 70% of India’s chocolate market (highest globally)
- Chocolate confectionery: 55.9% market share
- Brand value: Cadbury Dairy Milk alone had $804.4M retail sales (2023)
- Celebrations contribution: 45%+ of annual revenue from Diwali gifting
The Festival Marketing Imperative
In India’s chocolate market, festivals drive the business. Diwali gifting in particular represents the single biggest sales opportunity of the year. During 2024’s festive season, chocolate sales surged over 40% according to Astute Analytica market research. This wasn’t gradual growth. This was concentrated demand during a narrow window.
Cadbury Celebrations was specifically created to capture this gifting demand. Unlike impulse purchases like Dairy Milk bars, Celebrations requires consumers to think ahead, visit stores, and make deliberate gifting choices. When COVID-19 threatened to cancel celebrations, it threatened Cadbury Celebrations revenue directly.
Festival-Driven Business:
- Diwali gifting: Single biggest sales opportunity
- 2024 festive season: Chocolate sales surged 40%+
- Concentrated demand during narrow window
- Celebrations requires deliberate gifting choices
- COVID-19 threatened to cancel celebrations
- Campaign gave consumers reason to visit local stores
The AI Ethics Question Nobody Asked
Celebrity Deepfakes for Commercial Advertising
The Cadbury Shah Rukh Khan campaign pioneered something that would become controversial just a few years later: celebrity deepfakes for commercial advertising. Rephrase.ai’s technology creates synthetic video using AI to recreate a person’s face and voice saying things they never actually said. This is, by definition, deepfake technology.
In 2021, when the campaign launched, this seemed innovative and helpful. By 2025, deepfakes have become synonymous with misinformation, fraud, and identity theft. The question worth asking: did Cadbury and Rephrase.ai set a precedent that would later be abused?
Ethical Considerations:
- Technology creates synthetic video using AI
- Recreates person’s face and voice saying things never actually said
- Explicit permission from Shah Rukh Khan and Cadbury obtained
- Store owners voluntarily participated
- Nobody deceived about AI nature of content
- By 2025: Deepfakes synonymous with misinformation, fraud, identity theft
The Technology’s Double Edge
Rephrase.ai distinguished their technology from malicious deepfakes by emphasizing they create “real videos from scratch” rather than manipulating existing footage. The company had explicit permission from Shah Rukh Khan and Cadbury to create the digital avatars. Store owners voluntarily participated. Nobody was deceived about the AI nature of the content.
But the technology that creates authorized celebrity endorsements at scale is the same technology that can create unauthorized political manipulation, fake news, or fraudulent impersonations. As of 2025, India has no comprehensive regulation of AI-generated synthetic media in advertising.
Regulatory Gray Zone:
- Technology creates authorized endorsements at scale
- Same technology can create unauthorized manipulation
- India has no comprehensive AI synthetic media regulation
- Campaign operated in regulatory gray zone
- Question remains: Innovation to celebrate or warning heeded?
The Bottom Line
The Cadbury Shah Rukh Khan “Not Just A Cadbury Ad” campaign will appear in marketing textbooks and AI case studies for decades. It generated 35% sales growth during India’s most important retail season, created 2,500+ personalized celebrity advertisements at a scale never attempted before, and was named the world’s most effective advertising campaign in 2024.
Why This Succeeded:
- Strategic generosity: Helped retailers who sell the product
- AI-powered hyper-personalization at unprecedented scale
- Shah Rukh Khan’s universal appeal across demographics
- Gifted advertising resources, strengthened distribution network
- Tapped pandemic-era empathy and community spirit
- Technology served both profit and purpose
More importantly, it demonstrated how brands can use technology and celebrity power to create campaigns that serve business objectives while genuinely helping communities in crisis. The brand proved that sometimes the best way to sell your product is to gift your most valuable marketing asset, your celebrity endorser, to the people who actually sell your product.
Cadbury’s market dominance (70% chocolate market share, $1.5B+ annual revenue) meant they didn’t need gimmicky marketing. Every campaign must strengthen distribution, deepen emotional connections, and maintain cultural dominance. The Shah Rukh Khan AI campaign did all three while pioneering AI-powered celebrity personalization.
Key Takeaways:
- 35% sales growth during Diwali 2021 (45%+ of annual revenue)
- 2,500+ personalized ads across 500+ pincodes at zero cost to retailers
- March 2024: World’s most effective advertising campaign (WARC Effective 100)
- Pioneered AI-powered celebrity deepfakes for commercial advertising
- Strategic generosity strengthened distribution network during crisis
- Technology serving both profit and purpose represents highest marketing potential
Whether it’s a blueprint for the future of AI-powered marketing or a warning about the ethical implications of synthetic media depends on perspective. What’s certain is that Cadbury found a way to make Shah Rukh Khan every local store’s brand ambassador, and in doing so, created one of India’s most memorable and effective marketing campaigns.
Shah Rukh Khan promoted 2,500+ stores by name. Cadbury Celebrations grew 35% during Diwali. Small retailers got free advertising worth millions. And Indian marketing learned that AI, when used with purpose and permission, can create campaigns that generate both business results and genuine goodness. That combination, technology serving both profit and purpose, represents the highest potential of modern marketing.
