The resulting commercial, titled “10 Years of Unlocking Progress for 70 Crore Indians,” bypasses the standard victory lap. As detailed in the PhonePe official announcement, the company is using its tenth anniversary to mark its presence across digital retail, UPI transfers, and merchant services. Instead of serving those numbers up as a dry corporate deck, the creative team built the entire production around an impossible physical task.

The Problem of Picturing 70 Crore

Big user bases are hard to comprehend. The mind glazes over when tech companies toss around hundreds of millions, because massive numbers stop feeling like actual humans.

To give that scale a tangible shape, the agency brought in Shahu Supreme, a record holder clocked at 494 words every minute. PhonePe hands him the customer list and lets the camera run. Even moving at auctioneer speed, the film notes that naming all 70 crore users without a pause would take 980 straight days. That is two years and eight months of continuous talking.

That simple, absurd equation carries the narrative. It gives the audience a visceral reference point for platform volume, turning an abstract statistic into something that feels physically exhausting.

Putting the Public Ahead of the Platform

By focusing on the roll call, the spot keeps the attention where it belongs: on the street-level users who actually drove UPI adoption over the past ten years.

We often see fintech brands struggle when apps fail to retain audience trust once their introductory ad blitz fades. PhonePe has avoided that pitfall by remaining a fixture of daily commerce, visible on payment stands outside tea stalls, vegetable carts, and corner pharmacies. The ticking counter in the film represents those real transactions, giving the celebration a modest, everyday foundation.

The script does not waste time delivering a lectures on national progress. The sheer ridiculousness of the exercise does the work on its own.

Making Platform Data the Comic Driver

Tech brands usually relegate their user numbers to a tiny disclaimer slide in the final three seconds of a commercial. Here, the number is the joke.

Watching Shahu gasp for air while the digital tally keeps climbing punctures the self-importance that usually plagues corporate milestones. The creative team at Ogilvy India, led by Akshay Seth, treated the scale as an operational nightmare rather than a trophy. The film works because the central premise is obviously doomed from the opening frame: you cannot thank a population this vast, and watching someone try makes for great television.

In the years following Paytm’s early cashless campaigns, Indian payment marketing has grown up. It no longer needs to teach people how to point a phone camera at a sticker. PhonePe using its own data archive as a comedic device proves that digital transactions are now woven into ordinary Indian life.

The Fine Art of De-bloating Corporate Vanity

Most corporate milestone commercials follow an unbearable formula. You get slow pans of small-town shopkeepers, stirring cello music, and an earnest voiceover telling the country how proud the brand is to serve them. The work is usually commissioned to flatter executives rather than entertain viewers. This film cuts through that posturing by taking a giant number and letting its own weight crush the premise.

Casting Shahu Supreme provides immediate comedic tension. By throwing a human voice against an endless digital ledger, the agency demonstrates the scale of 70 crore people far better than any bar graph ever could. The realization that Shahu would still be reading names well into 2029 gives the viewer a sudden, clear sense of how large the user base really is.

Crucially, the film avoids the false intimacy common in brand films. PhonePe never claims to know all 700 million users personally. It admits they are a chaotic, endless crowd. That admission of human limitation makes the gesture feel far more genuine than a standard corporate tribute.

The approach does have one real trade-off. By chaining the script to a single, high-speed joke, the piece leaves out the human stories that built the brand: the rural shopkeeper getting paid instantly, or the family sending money home during an emergency. It trades emotional depth for a sharp gag. Still, for an anniversary ad that could easily have turned into corporate self-congratulation, choosing a self-deprecating laugh was the right call.

Credits
Brand: PhonePe
Campaign: 10 Years of Unlocking Progress for 70 Crore Indians
Agency: Ogilvy India
Creative Team: Akshay Seth and Team
Featured Talent: Shahu Supreme

A Story Told Through Symbols

The campaign draws inspiration from the eye as a recurring symbol across cultures. References to protective talismans, mythology and Indian folklore appear throughout the film, creating an atmosphere that feels both familiar and unsettling. Rather than presenting these symbols as decorative motifs, STARE places them at the centre of its visual language, giving them a contemporary interpretation through jewellery and costume design.

This approach shifts attention away from conventional product-focused storytelling. The jewellery is integrated into the narrative, allowing each piece to support the mood, character and symbolism instead of functioning solely as an object of display.

A Cinematic Take on Jewellery Advertising

Directed by Bijoy Shetty, STARE unfolds with the pacing of a short film. Carefully composed frames, restrained dialogue and atmospheric lighting build tension throughout, while movement and performance carry much of the story.

The film borrows visual cues commonly associated with folk horror, creating an environment where ritual, mystery and tradition exist alongside contemporary fashion. Rather than relying on shock or spectacle, it builds unease through imagery, music and rhythm, giving the campaign an identity that stands apart from more familiar luxury advertising.

Jewellery as Part of the Narrative

One of STARE’s strongest creative choices is the way jewellery is woven into the storytelling. Instead of isolated close-ups designed to showcase craftsmanship, the pieces appear as extensions of the characters themselves.

The collection explores themes of visibility, protection and the social gaze through sculptural forms inspired by mythology, ritual and protective symbolism. This gives the jewellery narrative weight while maintaining its role as the central product.

Craft Across Every Frame

The campaign brings together performances from Karthika Nair, Tillotama Shome, Niniraanjhana, Fight Master Kaali, Mary Thampurattii, Konkonaa Halder, Isha Singh, Gauri Lakshmy, Vidya Vijayakumar and Gauthami Jeji.

Abhinay Kumar’s cinematography complements the film’s visual direction with textured compositions and carefully controlled lighting. The edit by Meran maintains a deliberate pace, while Parimal Shais’ score and Rudy Mukta’s vocals reinforce the film’s haunting atmosphere. Together, the creative disciplines work in service of the narrative instead of competing for attention.

Why STARE Stands Out

Many jewellery campaigns celebrate craftsmanship, heritage or occasion-based gifting. STARE expands that conversation by exploring how jewellery can communicate emotion, memory and cultural symbolism through cinema.

Its strength lies in resisting familiar advertising conventions. The film does not rush to explain itself or rely on dialogue to communicate its ideas. Instead, it trusts visual storytelling, performance and atmosphere to shape the viewer’s interpretation.

By combining fashion, folklore and cinematic direction, Bhavya Ramesh Jewelry and NorBlack NorWhite present a campaign that demonstrates how branded storytelling can move beyond traditional commercial formats while keeping the product closely connected to the narrative.

Credits
Cast – Karthika Nair | Tillotama Shome | Niniraanjhana | Fight Master Kaali | Mary Thampurattii | Konkonaa Halder | Isha Singh | Gauri Lakshmy | Vidya Vijayakumar | Gauthami Jeji
Directed by Bijoy Shetty
Edited by Meran
Shot by Abhinay Kumar
Music by Parimal Shais
Mix by Akash Shravan
Vocals by Rudy Mukta
Production – Brown Crew Productions
Producers – Wazim Hyder | Anamay Prakash
Production Manager – Vishnu Bhaskar I Sangeeth
Executive Producer – Vivek Vinoj
Production Executive – Jenson Thaadikaran I Pranav Prakash
Styling – NBNW | Shweta Betty | Sandra Resmi
HMUA – RG Wayanadan
Casting Director – Sanjay
Production Designer – Kripesh Ayyappankutty
Casting Associates – Pournami Nair | Joshuaa Julius I Anjana
Sound Design – Sukrit Sen
Colorist – Yash Soni
VFX – Mad House Studios
3D Animation – Aabhijit Vinayak
Titles – Utkarsh Pathak
Associate Editor – Avin Poly
Direction Team – Haritha Ranatunga | Nikhita Prathap | Kartik Thanuja | Nirupama Thomas | Niket Shetty
Cinematography Team – Nanda Kishore | Alen Jose
Art associate – Fragin | Anuraj
Art assistants – Aneesh | Sineesh | Rashid
Accountant – Shifananana
Camera – Candid
Lights – SJ Light Unit

This campaign is about:
Bhavya Ramesh Jewelry, STARE, NorBlack NorWhite, Bijoy Shetty, Jewellery Campaign, Film Campaign, Indian Advertising, Brand Film, Fashion Film, Folk Horror, Creative Storytelling, Luxury Jewellery, Visual Storytelling, Campaign Analysis, Cultural Symbolism, Advertising Film.