Kantar has announced the winners of its Creative Effectiveness Awards (CEA) India 2026, recognising India’s most effective advertising campaigns of 2025.

The awards are based on Kantar’s testing of more than 13,000 creatives globally through 2025, including over 1,500 in India, with this year’s analysis covering more than 250 ads across categories, audiences, regions, and media platforms.

Winning campaigns came from brands including Cadbury Dairy Milk, KitKat, Taj Mahal Tea, Tata Salt, Dettol, Medimix, Dexogrow, Lux, Wheel, and McDowell’s. The awards were presented across four categories: Hindi Speaking Markets, Non-Hindi Speaking Markets, Digital, and Bharat Connect.

According to Kantar, the strongest-performing campaigns combined storytelling, cultural relevance, and clear brand integration, with three traits emerging consistently among winners: relatable human insights, effective brand integration, and culturally rooted storytelling.

Soumya Mohanty, Managing Director & Chief Solutions Officer, South Asia at Kantar, said this year’s winners, despite spanning different categories and audiences, were united by a deep understanding of Indian consumers. She added that the most effective campaigns translated authentic human insights into compelling brand stories, whether rooted in community, culture, aspiration, identity, or everyday life.

Kantar also shared findings on creator effectiveness, noting that creator content impact has risen 77%, with 43% of overall campaign impact now stemming from channel synergy. Campaigns blending creator with branded content delivered stronger sales contribution than either format alone.

Prasanna Kumar, EVP & Head of Creative at Kantar, said marketing effectiveness is being reshaped fundamentally, with success increasingly dependent on connected creative ecosystems rather than simply producing more content, making consistent brand expression across touchpoints essential for impact.