Ad Campaigns
Cashkaro calls out ‘bakwas coins’ in India’s first Ghibli-style ad blitz
MUMBAI: In a world of shiny apps throwing virtual coins like confetti at confused consumers, Cashkaro has just kicked the table over. The company launched India’s first Ghibli-style animated ad on 29 March 2025—and it isn’t holding back. The campaign, all soft watercolours and nostalgic whimsy, fires a not-so-subtle torpedo at every coin-lobbing app out there, declaring, “Coins Are All Bakwas, Real Cashback is Cashkaro Ke Paas.”
Crafted in the distinct, hand-drawn charm of Studio Ghibli’s legendary animations, the ad takes a cheeky swipe at so-called ‘coin rewards’ that sound great until you read the small print. Cashkaro’s message is crystal clear: ditch the point-based faff and get actual money you can spend. The kind you can UPI straight to your bank. No voodoo maths. No expiry dates. No hoops to jump through.
“People are tired of earning Cashback coins that feel more like a gimmick than real savings. Today’s consumers see through marketing fluff and focus on the real value, not just flashy cashback coins that are hard to use. At Cashkaro, we give users ‘Real Cashback’ — real money that can be transferred to the bank accounts and actually spent, rather than being stuck with coins and points that have restrictions. Over the years, we have returned more than Rs 1,000 crore in real cashback to our users, proving that savings should be tangible and beneficial. This campaign is a fun yet powerful way to reinforce that Cashkaro is the real cashback king,” said Cashkaro and EarnKaro co-founder Swati Bhargava.
Cashkaro and EarnKaro director – brand & creative Ishan Agarwal added, We are always looking out for creative ways to connect with our audience, and this campaign is a perfect example of how storytelling can make an impact. The idea behind this campaign was to blend art with advertising. The Ghibli-style animation is not just visually stunning but also helps us deliver our message in a fun, engaging, and memorable way. In a market flooded with apps that offer coins with limited usability, we wanted to highlight how Cashkaro stands apart by providing real cashback that users can spend. This campaign cuts through the noise, grabs attention, and helps in connecting with the audience with more lighthearted and visually striking content.”
The brand has already returned over Rs 1,000 crore in cold, hard cashback to users. No coins. No unicorn dust. Just plain, honest cash.
Watch the ad here:
Cashkaro’s move comes as users grow weary of reward structures more complicated than a Christopher Nolan plot. The company continues to partner with platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra, ensuring cashback is always just a click away. With this bold, artsy swipe at the competition, the message is clear: enough of the pretend points. Let’s talk rupees.
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.
