The 74 coolest Dussehra visuals & gifs of 2016

Celebrating the triumph of good over evil, several brands found a creative sync with Dussehra in their visual content for social media this year

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Dussehra or Dassera is one festival with many tales. It marks the end of the nine-day battle between Ram and Ravan. It is also celebrated as Vijaya Dashami and Bijoya among Bengalis, marking the end of Durga Puja. Indian mythology brings forward two parallel stories for Dussehra  – Goddess Durga has finally killed the demon king Mahishasura, and the other wherein she departs the earth for her heavenly abode. However, the essence of Dussehra is the same: ‘victory of good over evil’, the stuff all inspiring stories are made of!

Every brand stands for good and thus finding a resonance with Dussehra is a must-do for them. This year has seen increased participation from Indian brands in varied sectors, when to comes to visual content marketing. Celebrating the triumph of good over evil, several brands found a creative sync with the festival this year on October 11. Fitness or insurance, gifting or ecommerce, brands have managed to carve their unique voice in one visual story.

We are quite impressed with the overall body of work in the Indian digital content marketing space, and feel delighted to present to you a list of the coolest visuals & gifs doled out this year for Dussehra:

OLX India

The used goods marketplace is hellbent on ridding our countrymen of ‘hoarding’ culture this Dussehra.

Amul

The dairy products maker gets it puns right every time.

Flipkart

The ecommerce major takes help of a bubble wrap to help you ‘pop’ the evil out.

Woo

The dating app keeps it really cool with this currently relevant and popular theme: ‘No means No’ from the movie Pink.

Grabon

The coupons and deals site takes a lighter route to fighting evil (read expensive items!).

Coolpad India

Coolpad captures the many evils faced by the smartphone generation. The victorious arrow must be a Coolpad smartphone!

Ola

Ola helps you beat the evils of travel as seen in this gif; what about the biggest evil: less road space and more vehicles.

Horlicks Oats

The oats maker urges you to burn calories to win over your health.

Nescafe

The coffee maker reiterates its ‘Stay Started’ philosophy well tuned with Dussehra.

Zomato

Yes, ordering food must have been a nightmare for Ravan, just as a headache would have been for him!

Axis Bank

The bank has created a nice console style game to fight evil in this gif.

Organic India

The organic foods maker finds a relevant brand connect establishing its products are pesticide free!

Happydent

A smile is the only curve that makes everything straight. Nice take by the Perfetti Van Melle gum brand.

Karvy Stock

The stock market is unpredictable. The stock broking services company demonstrates this creatively through each of Ravan’s head making ten different and conflicting investment decisions!

IndiaMART

The online marketplace demonstrates how all supplier and buyer problems faced at competing marketplaces are solved at IndiaMART.

Lenskart

Ravan models for Lenskart in this visual, but I wonder why is he in a bathrobe?!

Fujifilm India

The camera maker captures the essence of clicking pictures of a festival in this gif.

JustDial

The local search engine keeps it localized this Dussehra.

Chevrolet India

The first step to destroying the evil within us is simply ‘driving safe’. Chevrolet India has been championing this cause since some time now.

OYO

The doodle style illustration by the budget hotel chain is quite interesting.

eBay India

We love this fun take by eBay. Ravan is left completely indecisive by each of his heads’ shopping ideas.

Godrej Security Solutions

The security solutions has pitched well for its home surveillance system.

Pulse Candy

The everyone’s favourite little candy keeps it simple.

Yatra

Each of Ravan’s heads point to the many travel woes we all face, Of course, Yatra is the one-stop solution!

FreeCharge

Digital money and easy gifting go hand in hand.

Cox & Kings India

The holidays brand rolled out a series of Dussehra celebration styles in different parts of the country.

MuscleBlaze

Fast food brands are not going to like what this supplement maker is telling you to do!

Moto India

Moto goes for a simple gif.

Tata Coffee Grand

The coffee maker believes drinking more coffee can help you fight evil, I wonder about the caffeine in ten cups of coffee!

Saffola

The maker of edible oils wants to build a community of healthy food enthusiasts: the Fit Foodies, and this gif sits perfectly well with the link.

Hero Moto Corp

Nice illustrative gif with a cool play on the letter ‘S’ by this motor cycle maker.

Tata Value Homes

The housing property brand celebrates the spirit of homecoming.

Club Mahindra

The holiday brand chooses a minimal yet distinct brand connect here.

Mumbai Indians

The IPL franchise keeps it interesting for its cricket loving fans.

Yes Bank

The bank keeps it interactive for users.

Vistara

Vistara defines the ‘new feeling’ in this clever copy capturing the spirit of Dussehra.

Meru Cabs

A visually appealing gif by Meru.

Sterling Holidays

The holiday brand keeps it interesting.

HDFC Bank

The bank demonstrates how PayZapp can help you tackle your monthly bills zoop se!

Kurkure

The snack maker shows off its new flavours.

Urzza

The energy drink from Bisleri wants you to make a smart choice.

Universal Sompo

The general insurance brand, in this gif, shows the different kinds of cover it can provide you with.

Dhara

The edible oil brand keeps it simple.

Vodafone India

The carrier wants you to break away from bad habits.

Commonfloor

The housing portal plays with its logo.

Snapdeal

The newly rebranded ecommerce company finds new definitions for its new tagline.

Karvy Wealth

The investment help brand takes a minimal route to establish a smart connect.

Havmor

Burning away evil with the goodness of ice cream.

Philips Sound

This sound devices maker makes a smart pitch for its wireless headphones.

IndiGO

An appealing pixel-inspired visual by the airlines.

Mentos India

Sweet product placement. And an indication to the brand’s ‘being smart’ message.

Micromax

Quite a funny one by Micromax!

IDFC Bank

The bank lets its users ‘digitally destroy Ravana’. A gif depicts arrows being shot at Ravana on a spinning wheel in the colours of IDFC. Users had to pause the GIF when the arrow hits exactly on Ravana and share a screenshot to win gift vouchers.

Viacom18

Nice artwork by the media brand.

Kurlon

Clever connect by the mattress maker.

Dulux

The paint brand showers you with colours of success and victory.

HarperCollins India

The publisher is the only one with a different take; its set of visuals throw light on Ravan’s skills and knowledge.

https://twitter.com/HarperCollinsIN/status/785721651358994432

Westside

A very minimal one by the chain of retail stores.

Intex

Home grown manufacturer of smartphones, electronic appliances and IT accessories rolls out an interesting gif with a visual connect.

Zoomcar

The car rental brand runs a mini road safety campaign in this visual.

Karpersky India

Those are the popular computer viruses you could get protection from.

MTR

The spice maker wants you to make healthy food choices.

Jet Airways

Simple, appealing and use of brand colours makes this interesting.

SpiceJet

Smart use of brand colours makes this interesting.

CenturyPly

The plywood maker reiterates its tagline.

Wai Wai

The instant noodles brand is at rescue for your hunger pangs.

Opera India

I thought the mobile browser would play with its ‘O’, but this is cool too.

Crossword Bookstores

The bookstore uses brand colours; however the font size in that copy is too tiny.

Pizza Express India

Simple yet cool brand connect. Check out where the pizzas are!

Godrej Appliances

The appliances brand keeps it interesting.

Aircel

Ravan’s ten heads are all excited with Aircel’s offer.

Bingo

Nice product placement in this gif!

Godrej Aer

Good smell always wins over bad smell with the help of Godrej Aer.

Sony India

Sony takes a simple yet visually appealing route.

Don’t forget to share your favourites with us.

Do note that we do not have an algorithm or a dedicated bot that scans the whole of social media for the most creative visuals; we make our humanly possible best efforts to hunt for these visuals and as they say, ‘to err is human’, we might miss out on a few good visuals. Do contribute to complete the gaps. Do share only brand visuals that you believe are worth a mention here because they are creative, visually appealing,  or have a good brand connect.

Feature image credit: Sudarsan Pattnaik