There is a particular kind of marketing genius in taking a real, bitter public feud and turning it into the punchline of your own advertisement. Ai+ Smartphone has just done exactly that, and the result is one of the most talked-about ad collaborations of the week – for reasons that go well beyond the product itself.
Video Link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZ2bx6cC3o6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
The brand’s new commercial brings together Mukesh Khanna and Samay Raina, two men who, until recently, were locked in a very public war of words. Earlier this year, Mukesh had called Samay’s comedy “kutte ki dum” and suggested he should sit on a donkey, after the comedian took a dig at Khanna’s iconic Shaktimaan character. Today, the two are sharing screen time in a smartphone ad, and the internet has noticed the irony immediately.
The ad leans directly into that history rather than avoiding it. It opens with Samay on a call saying the show is making a comeback because darkness doesn’t stay forever, before Mukesh appears on the rooftop in full Shaktimaan mode. Mukesh repeats his own earlier line, telling Samay he’s there to put him in line, and jokes about the FIRs and controversies surrounding the comedian. The exchange then reveals itself to be a promotional campaign for the phone, ending with Samay saying “Sorry, Shaktimaan.”
For Ai+ Smartphone, this is shrewd creative strategy. The brand has used Raina across its campaign funnel, including a separate ad built around the Shaktimaan dynamic alongside its presence inside India’s Got Latent – a layered approach for a new entrant in a crowded, price-led category. Real controversy comes with built-in attention and emotional charge; the brand simply had to provide the stage.
Whether the appearance signals a genuine reconciliation or was simply a professional engagement remains unclear, and neither party has addressed it directly. But for Ai+ Smartphone, that ambiguity is a feature, not a bug – the brand doesn’t need closure on the feud, only the conversation it generates.
