Automobile brands have emerged as some of the most visible advertisers this year, with a sharp rise in campaigns across television, digital, outdoor and regional media bringing the category closer than ever to FMCG’s long-held dominance in the advertising landscape. What once appeared to be a seasonal burst has widened into a broader visibility race, with automakers treating the celebratory period- spanning the festive cycle, the post-festive marriage season and the Christmas–New Year buying wave, as a strategic window to build brand preference and secure conversions while consumer optimism is at its peak.
Setting the context for this spike, Sumit Kapoor, Independent Brand Growth Consultant, points to both the strength and the vulnerability of the momentum. “Automotive advertising in India suffers from a festive addiction. The sector holds only 6 percent of the advertising market. FMCG commands 31 percent. Yet auto brands push 22 to 27 percent of their annual budgets into just eight weeks. They call this strategic,” he said. “The 2025 festive season proved them right and wrong simultaneously. Sales jumped 40.5 percent in October. Spectacular numbers. But this success revealed an uncomfortable truth: buyers now wait for Diwali like it's the only season that matters.”
Media agencies believe, the rapid acceleration in automobile advertising this year has been driven by both consumer sentiment and structural levers. Media agencies note that this cycle has been supported by aggressive marketing calendars from OEMs and a concentrated focus on peak-intent periods. As Manish Sharma, President, Arena India (Havas Media Network India) explains, “multiple launches across auto are fuelling aggressive media plans, backed by multi-channel campaigns spanning TV, digital, print, and high-impact OOH,” and the post-festive marriage season “remains a high-conversion window for premium and entry-level vehicles alike,” supported further by “residual GST benefits (from the recent rate rationalisation on EVs and select ICE models)” that are encouraging OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer) “to lock in share-of-voice before potential policy reversals or budget cycles.”
At an OEM level, festive campaigns were treated as an opportunity to build deeper brand preference while demand was already high. Virat Khullar, AVP & Vertical Head - Marketing, Hyundai Motor India Limited, underscores this approach: “As the automotive sector witnesses renewed consumer optimism around the festive season, brands naturally ramp up their marketing investments to connect with evolving aspirations of in-market customers. For Hyundai as well, the festive season marked an opportunity to deepen preference and environment by highlighting our products’ USP’s. While our promotional investments were doubled over the last year’s festive campaign, ad spending will further increase in the coming months due to the launch of the all-new Hyundai VENUE, a compact SUV that reset segment benchmarks.”
However, across the entire category, one common thread stood out: digital became central rather than supplementary. Kapoor notes that “digital claimed 40 to 50 percent of campaign budgets” this season and that “programmatic buying handles 89 percent of impressions,” a shift driven largely by accountability pressures rather than experimentation.
While the surge was sector-wide, the strategies that fuelled it varied across segments. Two-wheeler advertisers shifted sharply toward outcome-driven marketing. Vijay Kaul, Marketing Head, Yamaha Motors India, highlights the impact of this transformation, “Yes, the momentum has clearly sustained. The auto category saw a rise in both media spends and business outcomes this festive season. October was our best-performing month, with retail sales crossing the one-lakh mark, this was supported by festive demand and the GST revision.”
He further details the strategic recalibration that supported efficiency without proportional budget inflation, “Over the past 12 months, our media approach has undergone a major shift. We’ve moved from broad, high-frequency campaigns to a digital-first, outcome-led strategy. While our overall budgets have rationalized, we’ve significantly improved efficiency by prioritizing platforms that deliver measurable business impact. Print continues to play a role, but in a highly tactical, offer-led format tied to retail objectives and dealership-level outcomes.” This recalibrated media mix has helped Yamaha sustain a strong brand presence through the festive season without proportionately increasing spends.
He also notes that fresh launches like EVs and ICE motorcycles have been key in maintaining demand beyond the festive period. With these introductions, Kaul expects December to be “action-packed.” The goal, he says, is to carry this momentum into Q1 (JFM ’26) while optimising investments for stronger, measurable business outcomes.
In the luxury segment, the relationship between inventory and advertising has been equally pronounced, though the communication choices are more selective. Ritika Jatin Ahuja, COO, Big Boy Toyz, describes the mindset, “If we look at our spends year-on-year, ATL hasn’t really shifted much, we’ve stayed consistent with our presence across premium pockets of Delhi, because that continues to be our strongest visibility driver. What changed noticeably was our digital muscle,” she said. “This year, our Meta and Google spends almost touched 1.3× of last year. A big reason is simply that our inventory expanded significantly, nearly 1.6× more cars than the previous festive cycle, and with every new supercar comes the responsibility of giving it the right kind of spotlight. So instead of increasing ATL noise, we chose to double down on sharper targeting.”
She adds that festive windows behave like natural demand triggers for luxury purchases. “We actually don’t run traditional festive campaigns, because for us, the festive season naturally behaves like a campaign of its own. The excitement around supercars is highest during celebrations; owning one becomes a part of how people mark their milestones,” she said. But, looking ahead, Ahuja says there’s no slowdown in sight. Early 2026 will mark an intentional expansion in marketing. Ad spends will also spotlight flagship inventory while building buzz around upcoming Realty and Auction ventures.
Will the momentum sustain beyond the festive quarter?
What began as a festive sprint is already shaping into a longer-term cycle, with most indicators pointing to an elevated spend-rise, rather than a temporary spike.
Media agencies confirm that post-festive spending has not cooled. Sharma notes, “Sustain into Q4/Nov-Dec? Yes—the momentum is not only sustained but accelerating into the final quarter and beyond. Current media bookings for the automobile category are tracking 10–15% higher than the same period in Q4 2024, reflecting sustained client confidence and strategic intent to maintain top-of-mind recall through year-end and into Q1 2026.”
Looking ahead, the drivers of advertising are expected to change as deliveries catch up with demand. Kapoor highlights this transition, “The sheer volume of pending festive bookings ensures mechanically strong conversions through Q1 2026, as delivery pipelines work through 4-6 week backlogs,” he said, arguing that advertising will pivot “from aggressive short-term acquisition sprints to inventory management, delivery experience communication, and rural market penetration,” with the “real story for early 2026” being consolidation in compact cars and two-wheelers in newly accessible rural markets.”
Will it be successful in dethroning FMCG?
This brings the spotlight to the competitive hierarchy between auto and FMCG. Kapoor underlines why disruption will not happen overnight, “FMCG brands advertise constantly because people buy soap weekly. Auto brands advertise episodically because people buy cars every seven years. Finding new channels doesn't alter this fundamental rhythm,” he said. “The real challenge lies in those 44 non-festive weeks. Will the industry stay silent and lose relevance? Or will it finally build brands strong enough to sell cars without slashing prices by a quarter?”
The real question now is not whether the festive peak can be replicated, but what the new base level of the market looks like. Even if momentum moderates, the surge has already pushed the category to a fundamentally higher baseline rather than a spike that disappears in January. The market dynamic has been permanently reset. However, whether this shift is strong enough to challenge FMCG’s long-held dominance in AdEx will depend on how consistently automobile brands communicate during the non-festive months and how effectively they convert digital efficiency and regional penetration into sustained preference.
