What’s in the air? Something raw, mystical, tradition led, head turning?
Everyone saw the campaign by Bhavya Ramesh where stare, eyes, mystical beings were in focus and everyone agreed it was a masterpiece. But that’s not the only one. Interestingly there is a shift towards campaigns that show raw, piercing visuals which may or not be pretty. What makes them beautiful though is how loudly and unapologetically they portray the value, the product, the cultural significance of their brand. And that’s something really powerful as a brand and enjoyable as a consumer. Here’s a list of campaigns that I feel are truly magnetic and ruminating.
Bhavya Ramesh:
Yes,I am yet not over the Stare campaign by Bhavya Ramesh X NorBlack NorWhite. It pierces right into your soul. It’s giving nazar battu but make it chic. Jewellery has always been shown enhancing the delicate femininity of a woman, showing her as celestial and divine. Ads mostly show pans and closeup of glowing brides, diamonds sparkling, gold shining. The Stare campaign too brings out the femininity- the brazen, sharp, cutting and raw side of it in angry women, mystical but scary beings, wearing eyes on their head, snakes, fangs and chillies on their bodies. This feels so unhinged but yet every woman feels relatable with it. Anger too is portrayed through big staring eyes. The jewellery just like the campaign stares back and intimidates unapologetically. Love that!
Dwimukhi:
Dwimukhi campaign by Quirky Kanya jewelry is divinely surreal. This campaign is for launching their new range NAVYA. Big headgears, divine elements like multiple hands, lotus flowers, elaborate garlands,dhuni and everything else you will associate with goddesses. If you ask me this is how I imaging devis. And the poses. The absolutely stunning poses of the models that make this shoot immersive and curious. The campaign is as interesting as the brass jewelry itself. Big beads, monometallic. This is not maximalism but still it feels maximal to the core. It’s mystical in the most traditional of ways and yet there’s just a hint of modernity in it. Stunning!
Ayush Kejriwal:
Every photoshoot is majestic. I would call it art, that’s what it is. Every image is a powerhouse of cultural elements mixed and matched, and woven in one narrative such that it stays in your peripheral view forever. Now this is maximalism to the heart of it. And the people behind these shoots know how to submerge the viewer without losing the key product- the saree. Every shoot maximises intricately the weaves, the flows, the variety and the embroideries even in an already concentrated background. Draped me in wonder!
Two ate:
I found this brand last year through a stiletto shoot, and their Paduka campaign has only sharpened the point. The imagery is surreal, modern, a kind of finely-tuned divinity — but it’s the copy underneath that bites. They’ve taken the traditional paduka and given it a revival with an edge, or as they’d put it, an ego. And that word choice is the whole campaign in miniature: the confidence to reframe a humble object as something with attitude. The use of red across the shots is close to a branding masterclass on its own — unapologetic, exact, never decorative for its own sake.
What’s in the air? Biting creativity, heading back to your core and maximalism for sure!
Raw vs Ugly Marketing
Now now, lets not confuse it with ugly marketing.
This is where marketers go wrong. “Ugly marketing” and raw, hard-hitting work can look alike in a thumbnail, but they aren’t the same thing.
Ugly marketing is a style. It borrows lo-fi as a look: wonky fonts, bad crops, a deliberately awkward layout, all signalling “we’re authentic.” The mess is decoration, and the meaning is optional.
Raw work is a stance. The imperfection is the point: this is what the thing actually looks like, and we won’t hide it.
So unflinching and out there as it is, these campaigns and shoots are raw and definitely not ugly. I feel the demand for different times call for different means of expression. In this time, it is very important to be completely out there, expressive and unapologetic and that is being reflected in the ads, campaigns and shoots too. As it should!