Why brands are moving beyond viral hits to make emotional connections

There’s a practical way to think about two types of marketing: the confetti moment and the slow burn. The confetti moment is loud, glittery, instantly gratifying and gone before you know it, perfect for headlines, memes and PR that need a dopamine hit. The slow burn, by contrast, is quieter and more deliberate. It asks for time, trust and recurrent attention and leaves a mark on how people feel about a brand, not just whether they remember a punchline.

Marketers are realising that virality without meaning is a high that doesn’t translate into long-term brand value. A viral clip can spike search volumes and fuel social chatter, but unless the creative links that moment back to a coherent brand truth – what you sell, what you stand for, how you behave – customers will remember the joke and not the product.

Take Bold Care’s debut campaign. It did everything a digital strategist dreams of: a big celebrity (Ranveer Singh), a shocking cameo (Johnny Sins), a parody, and a meme-ready execution. The ad achieved huge reach and started conversations. But many argued it landed more as a “blip” than a foundation-laying brand moment.

The viral stunt failed to enhance comprehension of the business or its product line. While the campaign normalised conversations about men’s sexual health, it risked being remembered as an entertainer rather than an explainer of Bold Care’s range and purpose.

Compare this with brands that chose one honest message and layered it consistently across touchpoints. The Whole Truth established a business based on transparency, emphasising "what's inside" and refusing to conceal behind health-washing.

Their packaging, content and product decisions reinforce the same singular truth. That continuity converts casual purchasers into repeat customers because the brand’s behaviour matches its promise.

Why the shift?

A few practical reasons:

1. Attention is expensive and shallow. Virality drives reach; meaning, it drives retention. A one-off laugh may get you noticed; an empathetic story gets you chosen at purchase time.

2. Trust matters more than ever. With product reviews, peer recommendations and Instagram Reels running in parallel, consumers look for signals they can live with every day. Truthful, value-based narratives, especially in health, food and personal care, reduce perceived risks.

3. Business impact requires attribution. CEOs want to know whether marketing grows category, loyalty and lifetime value. Emotional storytelling that’s repeatedly tied to the brand proposition creates clearer pathways from ad to purchase than a meme that only drives views.

4. Cultural resonance is cumulative and begins to add up. Campaigns like Ariel’s long-running #ShareTheLoad or Tata Tea’s Jaago Re don’t chase virality—they aim to change the conversation, and over the years they have accrued cultural capital. They aren’t one-night fireworks; they’re public commitments that build equity.

5. India has seen quick wins and patient winners. Paper Boat turned childhood stories into the product’s DNA, so every touchpoint smells faintly of summers and monsoons, and people keep coming back for the feeling.

Fevicol didn’t become a cultural phenomenon by chasing trends; it stuck to a core metaphor - mazboot jod and built a catalogue of hilarious, humane executions around that truth.

So, where should marketers invest their energy? My short list of approaches that actually move the needle:

● Pick one credible brand truth and make every activation prove it.

● Measure beyond impressions — focus on purchase intent, repeat behaviours and sentiment.

● Use celebrities to amplify a truth, not to disguise the absence of one.

● Be prepared to run a message longer than a single quarter (consistency compounds).

● Let product and customer experience do the heavy lifting. Ads should explain and deepen, not distract.

Virality is fun, measurable and headline-friendly. But Indian brands that want roots rather than routes are choosing the slow burn. They are aligning their product, purpose, and narrative so that every ad is a reminder of who they are. If you’re building a brand, ask not “how loud can we be?” but “what do we want people to feel tomorrow?” That tiny shift in the brief separates a memorable stunt from a notable brand.

(Aayush Bansal is Co-Founder and Director at Black Cab, leading creative agencies that build India’s top consumer, hospitality, and alco-bev brands. He also drives innovation in healthcare through Simpil Medical Technologies and supports startups as an angel investor.)