Chhath Puja is no longer an afterthought to Diwali for marketers

New Delhi: The festive advertising cycle has not ended with Diwali. Brands are now on to Chhath Puja as a standalone cultural moment, with fresh campaigns across jewellery, FMCG, beverages and spices aimed at consumers in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and migrant pockets in big cities.

Chhath Puja falls from October 25 to 28 this year, less than a week after Diwali, which was observed across most of India on October 20.

Jewellery brand Kalyan Jewellers has released a Chhath Puja digital film featuring television actors Chhavi Pandey and Manas Shah. The film is set in a household on the eve of Chhath and follows a couple through preparations and rituals. It closes with the husband gifting his wife a necklace as an expression of gratitude and respect. The brand positions the moment as a reflection of shared devotion and companionship.

Parle Products has rolled out a Chhath-focused Parle-G film built on its long-running “G Maane Genius” platform. The story shows a young boy who realises his pregnant aunt will miss the rituals on medical advice. He quietly recreates a small Chhath ghat at home with mud, flowers, sugarcane and water so she can offer prayers without strain. The film frames “genius” as empathy and care inside the family and positions Parle-G as part of everyday festival moments rather than as a product push.

Pulse candy, from DS Group, has launched an interactive “Pulse of Festive Run: Chhath Edition,” a gamified 3D experience that places the player on a virtual ghat. Users collect Chhath essentials like sugarcane, fruits and diyas while dodging obstacles, with Pulse candy appearing as power-ups. The brand says the idea is to take a traditionally devotional festival and make it discoverable for Gen Z through play, under its “Pulse of India” platform.

This year, Aashirvaad Shudh Chakki Atta has introduced the ‘Ghar Jaisa Chhath’ initiative, allowing devotees to experience and participate in Chhath rituals from the comfort of their homes. It has created http://aashirvaadchhathpuja.com/—an interactive digital platform that brings the journey of Chhath to life through storytelling, sound, and sensory design. The microsite guides devotees step-by-step through rituals—from preparing Thekua to arranging Soop and offering heartfelt prayers for family wellbeing. The experience culminates with soulful Chhath geet and the serene Arghya to the setting sun, symbolizing gratitude and divine blessings. Users can also capture festive selfies in a Chhath-themed frame and share them with loved ones, spreading joy across distances. To amplify the festive spirit, Aashirvaad is hosting the #GharJaisaChhath Contest from October 25 to 31, 2025. Devotees who complete the microsite journey and share their selfies on social media stand a chance to win exciting prizes.

Tata Tea Agni Leaf, which calls itself a leading tea brand in Bihar and Jharkhand, has created limited-edition Chhath packs using Tikuli art, an 800-year-old painting tradition from Bihar. Each pack depicts one of the four stages of Chhath — Nahay Khay, Kharna, Sandhya Arghya and Usha Arghya — and has been designed under the guidance of Padma Shri awardee Ashok Kumar Biswas, who has worked to revive the Tikuli form. 

The brand has also released a TVC built around family rituals such as kharna ki kheer, thekua and arghya, linking tea to local identity and pride.

ITC’s Sunrise Spices has extended its Chhath platform “Urja Ka Vardaan,” which it launched last year, into a second phase this season. The brand has commissioned a devotional song “Chhath Ki Mahima,” sung by Maithili Thakur, and an illustrated storybook, “Urja Ka Vardaan – Chhath Ki Kahaniyaan,” rendered in folk-art styles such as Madhubani and Tikuli. The work retells origin stories associated with Chhath, including Sita’s first Chhath vrat, the prayers of King Priyavrata and Queen Malini for a child, and the worship of Surya Dev by the Pandavas and Karna. The stated intent is to reconnect younger audiences in Bihar and Jharkhand with the mythology and discipline of the festival.

In a tech-forward approach, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals launched an AI-powered film titled "Jahan Crompton, Wahan Bharosa" (Where there’s Crompton, there’s trust), highlighting the vital role of water in Chhath rituals. The narrative focuses on Crompton Pumps ensuring a reliable water supply for ritual baths, preparing festive delicacies like thekua and kheer, and offering prayers to the sun. 

Marketers are increasingly treating Chhath Puja as more than a regional afterthought to Diwali. The new campaigns are not led by discounts or generic festive imagery. Instead, they lean on local customs, language, music, folk art, devotion to the rising and setting Sun, and family duty, and in some cases, interactive formats, to stay visible in the crucial days after Diwali while speaking directly to Bihar- and Jharkhand-origin consumers across India.