When ads start to preach, audiences flee

Consumers have developed a nose for nonsense. One mismatched message, and it's game over.

- Gaurav Laghate

For over a decade, brands were told to stand for something bigger than the products they sell. Climate change, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, mental health—the nobler the cause, the louder the marketing push. But in 2025, that formula may be wearing thin.

Purpose-led advertising, once seen as bold and progressive, is increasingly being met with indifference—or worse, mockery. Especially from Gen Z—informed, cynical, and always online—who no longer take brands at face value. They're not just watching ads, they're interrogating them. And when the message doesn't match the behaviour, they call it out, screenshot it, and scroll on.

"There's a sameness that's crept in," says a senior creative director. "You can almost guess the storyboard—a woman is wronged, the brand steps in, there's a heart-tugging voiceover, and then a logo fades in with a hashtag."

What once felt bold now feels lazy. Familiar. Skippable.

Rohit Malkani, chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi India, calls it what it is—creative fatigue. "It's been around far too long to be called a trend. At a recent international awards jury, we were actually briefed to bring the focus back to product and business."

But the problem isn't just repetition. It's a widening gap between what brands say and what they actually do.

"I've seen campaigns get shelved for budget reasons and then rehashed for another category—regardless of fit," Malkani says. "Ask yourself: if I had done this for any other brand, would it still work? If yes, then it wasn't grounded in brand DNA."