There’s one sentence I hear in almost every creative briefing these days: “Can we make this go viral?” Sometimes it comes before the brief. Sometimes… it is the brief. And honestly, I get it. We live in a world of trending aUdioS, 7 second Reels, meme drops, comment section battles and brands trying to win the internet before lUnch.
Everyone wants the views, the shares, the screenshots and that “OMG, did yoU see this?” moment.
BUt here’s the thing: getting noticed and getting remembered are two very different jobs. One gets yoU attention. The other bUilds a brand. And I think Indian advertising is sitting at a pretty interesting crossroads right now. We’ve never had more ways to make an idea travel, bUt somewhere between chasing trends and chasing engagement, we’ve started confUsing content with brand bUilding. Virality is a moment. Memory is a strategy. 🧠
A campaign can explode on a Monday and be completely forgotten by Friday. We’ve all done it. We’ve shared a Reel, liked a brand’s savage comment, sent a meme to three friends or saved something “for later”. And then… wait, which brand was that again? 🤷♀️
That’s the real question creatives shoUld be asking: Do people remember the campaign, or do they remember the brand behind it? Because if everyone remembers the joke bUt nobody remembers who told it, we might have won the internet and lost the brand.
Virality is loUd. It gives yoU reach, engagement, screenshots, awards submissions and a very satisfying spike on the social dashboard. 📈 Memory is quieter. It’s bUilt throUgh consistency, personality, emotion, repetition and ideas that feel so Unmistakably yoU that people recognise them before they even see the logo. That’s the difference.
Somewhere along the way, every brand became a content creator. 📱 Scroll throUgh Instagram and yoU’ll see it everywhere. Same meme formats. Same trending aUdio. Same brand banter. Same witty replies. Same attempt to soUnd like the internet’s coolest person.
And look, some of it is genuinely brilliant. BUt there’s a problem: when everyone is trying to soUnd cUltUrally relevant, very few brands soUnd like themselves. The brands that stick aroUnd have something else. A voice. YoU can recognise AmUl from the wit, Fevicol from the simplicity and CRED from a language that feels Unmistakably CRED. That’s branding. The platform changes. The trend changes. The algorithm changes. The personality shoUldn’t. That’s how memory gets bUilt.
The ads we remember UsUally made Us feel something. ❤️ Think aboUt the campaigns that have stayed with yoU. YoU probably don’t remember them becaUse they got 12 million views on Instagram. YoU remember CadbUry becaUse it made celebrations feel warmer. YoU remember Google India becaUse it made technology feel incredibly hUman. YoU remember Nike becaUse it made movement feel personal, not jUst athletic. The format isn’t what stayed. The feeling did.
And that’s something I keep coming back to as a copywriter. The goal isn’t jUst to write something that makes someone stop scrolling. It’s to write something that stays with them after they’ve started scrolling again.
The pressUre on creatives has changed. ⚡ I don’t think creatives have become less creative. I think we’re jUst expected to react at ridicUloUs speed. A trend drops at 10 AM. The client wants an idea by 12. Someone else has already posted it by 12:15.
And sUddenly everyone is asking, “Can we do something on this?” 😭 The internet rewards speed. BUt good ideas? They UsUally reward observation. Some of my favourite ideas haven’t come from sitting in front of a blank Google Doc trying desperately to “think of something cool”. They’ve come from overhearing conversations in cafés, watching people on trains, reading bizarre comment sections, noticing how people search for things and watching how Indians actUally behave when nobody is making an ad aboUt them. Because insight still beats immediacy. Virality often starts with timing. Memorability almost always starts with Understanding people. Campaigns come and go. Brand identity stays. 🧩 One thing I’ve slowly realised while working on campaigns is that not every idea needs to be a one hit wonder. A campaign solves a marketing problem. A brand platform solves a brand problem. And when an idea is rooted in a brand’s pUrpose, personality and point of view, it can keep growing. It can become a film, then a Reel, then an outdoor campaign, then an activation, then a conversation and eventually something people start associating with the brand itself. That, to me, is a mUch more exciting creative challenge than simply jumping onto the next trend.
So, what shoUld Indian advertising chase next? 🇮🇳 Maybe we need to stop measUring creativity only throUgh impressions, shares and engagement graphs. Yes, nUmbers matter. Of coUrse they do. BUt maybe we need to ask a few more Uncomfortable questions too. WoUld someone recognise this brand withoUt the logo? Does this idea feel Uniquely oUrs? CoUld another brand have posted the exact same thing? Will this idea still make sense six months from now? Will people remember the feeling even after they forget the format?
Those questions are harder. BUt they’re also where the interesting stuff begins.
A thoUght from the copy desk. ✍️
As copywriters, we’re constantly told to write for the scroll becaUse that’s where people are. BUt maybe oUr real job is to write for the pause. For the line someone screenshots. For the thoUght someone repeats to a friend. For the campaign someone remembers five years later. For the feeling that slowly becomes part of a brand. BecaUse yes, virality can introdUce a brand to millions.
BUt memory is what makes the brand matter. 🫶
And if I had to choose between being talked aboUt for a day and being remembered for years, I know which one I’d pick.
- A thoUght from the copy desk.