Ad Campaigns
BookMyShow adopts ‘Prankvertising’ for its Birthday campaign reveal
Mumbai: The ‘Always On’ entertainment destination of the country, BookMyShow, has kicked up a storm for its birthday, creating moments of surprise and joy with the BookMyShow Birthday #HappyHour. Similar to the much-loved concept of a happy hour, the platform has curated a masaledar entertainment menu across categories including cinema, live entertainment and BookMyShow Stream, India’s largest home-grown Transaction-Video-On Demand (TVOD) streaming platform with unbelievable offers and attractive prices, promising a blockbuster entertainer week for its consumers.
India’s leading entertainment destination BookMyShow, launched a digital film unveiling its Birthday campaign to celebrate 16 years of the platform’s commitment to deliver unmatched entertainment experiences across various formats, categories and at scale. Breaking away from conventional marketing, the film embraces the innovative approach of ‘Prankvertising’, a creative activity that immediately captures the attention of audiences.
The film’s premise is based in the BookMyShow headquarters, where employees are engrossed in their daily work routine. At precisely 5 PM, everything changes and the narrative takes an unexpected turn. Utilizing staged actors and hidden cameras, the unsuspecting employees are taken on a thrilling journey of surprises. A mysterious brand podium with a message points them towards a button, setting off a series of delightful activities and surprises from the world of various entertainment categories offered by BookMyShow. The candid reactions of the employees are captured on camera, showcasing their sheer amazement and excitement, making the film truly engaging. The film culminates on this exciting note, inviting audiences across the country to join in, in BookMyShow’s entertainment-rich birthday celebrations with irresistible discounts during the #HappyHour and be rewarded with the choicest of marquee entertainment experiences across a wide range of options at never-seen-before prices.
A classic spin-off, of the idea of a happy hour, the BookMyShow Birthday #HappyHour campaign aims to fuel entertainment consumption further, in the spirit of celebration. The platform has left no stone unturned to ensure consumers receive the best of deals on all things they love, ranging from movies, getaways, music concerts and live performances, monsoon treks, plays, sports, in-house entertainment with BookMyShow Stream and much more, making the Happy Hour the most magical hour of the day between 5 August and 13, every day from 5 PM – 6 PM on BookMyShow.
Offering over 2000 spectacular entertainment experiences, some of the much-anticipated ones that audiences can choose from include MotoGP, Sunburn, Vir Das: Mind Fool Tour, the much-awaited NMACC’s theatrical – Westside Story, Symphony Orchestra, Shubh: Still Rollin India Tour and Sunidhi Chauhan’s concert, all films screening at Cinepolis and Miraj theatres, and the ultimate Stream Dream with titles such as Sisu, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Fast X, Lost and Found, Asterix & Obelix, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, 65, Zack Snyder`s Justice League, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, The Whale available at unbeatable prices!
The campaign will be amplified across various platforms across digital media, in-cinema advertising, social media and through BookMyShow’s owned channels.
Commenting on the occasion, BookMyShow marketing – head Dolly Davda said, “As we celebrate 16 years of enabling unparalleled entertainment experiences to millions, we are thrilled to unveil our Birthday #HappyHour campaign and open up the celebration to all our consumers that have stood by us through thick & thin. We are thrilled to offer exclusive offers on some of the most marquee and exciting experiences across cinemas, live entertainment and BookMyShow Stream in a move that has never been seen at this scale in the world of entertainment. With a full course entertainment menu and matchless offers, our #HappyHour is set to fuel the spirit of celebration, create unforgettable memories and deliver moments of surprise and joy with every experience for our cherished customers through what we know best – entertainment.”
The introduction of Happy Hour is a golden opportunity for customers to make unforgettable memories with their friends, families and everyone they wish to bring along! Customers can catch the latest blockbuster with their loved ones, laugh heartily with friends at a stand-up comedy show or witness the magic of live theatre together – all while getting an excellent deal on BookMyShow!
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
