SMARTIES India 2025 shortlist unveils the boldest campaigns driving business impact

After an intensive jury process, 184 entries have been shortlisted for the 14th edition of SMARTIES India with careful screening and scoring by 100+ screening jury and 50+ jurors to decide the final wins. This year’s shortlist reflects the evolving face of marketing in India, capturing breakthrough work across categories and setting the stage for the country’s most prestigious celebration of marketing effectiveness. 

MMA India jury chair & board member Nikhil Sharma, Managing Director, Perfetti Van Melle India said, “I extend my heartiest congratulations to all winners for setting new benchmarks and reminding us of the power of ideas to drive progress. Today’s marketers continue to inspire - pushing boundaries with creativity, technology, and purpose. As Jury Chair, it was quite a challenge - a good one though -  to firstly select the top few from nominations, and then to align with the jury team who themselves felt very strongly about their shortlist of some fabulous campaign entries. This year’s winners have proved that when innovation meets intent, the result is campaigns that not only make an impact but also truly connect with people."

This year’s shortlist saw participation from a wide spectrum of India’s most influential marketers, with entries from Hindustan Unilever, PepsiCo, Mondelez, ITC, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Amazon, Swiggy, Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki, Pernod Ricard, Diageo, Britannia, L’Oréal, Dabur, Federal Bank, Motilal Oswal, Aditya Birla Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Apollo Tyres, Myntra, Hero MotoCorp, CEAT, Dell, Lenovo, and Mastercard, among others. The sheer breadth of industries - spanning FMCG, auto, e-commerce, finance, retail, consumer tech, and beyond - reflects SMARTIES’ position as the country’s definitive platform for marketing effectiveness.

Moneka Khurana, country head & BOD member, MMA Global India, said: “As SMARTIES continues to grow in scale and stature, what stood out this year was the diversity of work across categories - from AI-driven creativity to small budget campaigns delivering outsized impact. The jury’s rigor ensures that SMARTIES is not just about rewarding creativity, but about recognising marketing that truly drives business outcomes. The evolution we are witnessing in regional media, challenger brands, and technology-led consumer experiences reflects the resilience and ingenuity of Indian marketers. That is exactly the spirit SMARTIES was designed to celebrate.”

The jury represented the full marketing ecosystem, bringing together leaders such as CMOs from Hindustan Unilever, Diageo, Tata Consumer Products, Hyundai, Lenovo, Pernod Ricard, Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Nestlé, Colgate-Palmolive, and Bharti Airtel, along with agency and platform heads from GroupM, Meta, Google, Amazon Ads, Sony LIV, and Wavemaker. This cross-industry representation ensured that every campaign was evaluated through the sharpest, most diverse marketing lens.

Jury Chair Virat Khullar, AVP & Vertical Head, Marketing, Hyundai Motor India, said: “As the Jury Chair for SMARTIES 2025 Awards, I am truly impressed by the quality of entries we have reviewed this year. The shortlisted nominees represent the best of marketing excellence - ideas that are bold, creative, and deeply resonate with audiences. These entries are dominating the new age media with usage of the latest marketing tech for impact and efficiency. Being able to recognize such outstanding talent and innovation is a privilege, and I look forward to celebrating their impact on our industry.”

This year, Toluna joined as the official Jury Observer, capturing jury perspectives throughout the three-day evaluation. Their insights, drawn from live deliberations, will spotlight emerging trends in effectiveness and provide the industry with a sharper lens on what truly drives impact.

Emerging themes of 2025

• Future Forward Tech: AR, VR, sonic, spatial, NFTs - bold experiments, but only a few translated into measurable impact.
  
  

• Local & Regional Rise: Homegrown brands outpacing globals in growth, with challenger brands disrupting and legacies leading with experience.
  
  

• AI in Marketing: Many attempts, but only a handful balanced creativity with ROI - still early days for true AI effectiveness.
  
  

• Festive & Quick Commerce: Campaigns that tapped into festive peaks and real-time commerce are reshaping consumer journeys.

Unpack Quick Commerce in the Festive Season: Take the Survey

This year also saw a surge in entries across Brand Experience, Real-Time Marketing, Small Budget-Big Impact, Social Media Marketing, Integrated eCommerce Innovation & Live Streaming, and AI-Driven Creative Excellence, reflecting where marketers are doubling down in 2025.

Beyond campaign metals, SMARTIES also recognises Industry Awards, which honour the organisations and leading companies shaping the marketing landscape. These accolades celebrate the brands, agencies, publishers, enablers, and marketers setting new benchmarks for innovation, effectiveness, and growth across the ecosystem.

From featuring in the WARC 100- the global index of the world’s most awarded media campaigns - to contributing toRECMA’s global media agency scores, SMARTIES India 2025 connects local brilliance with global credibility.

The program also contributes to the SMARTIES Business Impact Index, a global measure of marketing effectiveness, making it one of the only awards where winning directly influences both brand and agency reputation at scale.

The shortlist now sets the stage for SMARTIES Unplugged on October 10 in Mumbai - a day-long immersion where industry leaders decode marketing’s future, followed by the SMARTIES Gala, where metals will be unveiled and the best of marketing effectiveness will be celebrated.

(We got this information in a press release.)