Jewellery ad campaigns often focus on occasions – a wedding, a personal milestone, a birthday or a professional achievement. Seldom do we see a jewellery ad that just celebrates the joy of being a woman and enjoying a piece of jewellery without any occasion to back it.

Recent jewellery ads have, thus, come as a breath of fresh air, as they seek to pick on small and big moments of a woman’s journey through life, in the process, celebrating diversity, inclusivity and feminism in equal measure.

Manohar Lal Jewellers’s ad campaign, Anaek

Take the case of Delhi-based Manohar Lal Jewellers’s ad campaign, titled Anaek, which is a joyous encapsulation of Indian culture. The ad shows women adorned in Hyderabadi pearl, ruby and emerald jewellery, even as the background gives glimpses of the historic city of Hyderabad. Another commercial from the same campaign showcases a woman adorned in Bengali finery, opening the doors of her home, with refrains of Rabindra sangeet, JokhonPorbe Na Mor, playing in the background. Yet another ad goes all contemporary, showing a modern woman wearing diamonds, with the backdrop being the city of Mumbai.

The Anaek campaign celebrates Indian craftsmanship, and the diverse cultures of the various cities that are portrayed in it, effortlessly and in an interesting, refreshing manner, making one sit up and take notice.

Konika Jewellery’s campaign featuring a transgender model

Then there is the celebration of just being the individual you are. Chennai-based Konika Jewellery recently came out with a heart-warming brand recall campaign, featuring transgender model Meera. The settings are very regal, with Meera, along with two other models, going back in time to 16^th-century India. The three women are decked in full bridal jewellery, as they pose in a temple, and then separately, in a stable. The ad highlights the choices a woman wants to make, living life on her own terms, as she celebrates special moments with her female companions.

Chandukaka Saraf’s campaign celebrating women’s valour

Women’s empowerment has also been a recurring theme in jewellery ads this season. Chandukaka Saraf & Sons’s latest campaign, titled Sonyasarkhi Shuddh Tu Daginyashi Maitri Kar, is targeted at the Maharashtrian customers. The ad film has a strong focus on women power – it shows women celebrating their femininity and defending their honour by themselves. Portraying strong women who do not bow before evil forces in society, the campaign is, literally, an ode to the valour of women. The campaign was aptly launched on the occasion of Dussehra to underscore the victory of good over evil. The ad encourages women to embrace their inner selves and enhance their feminine power by wearing jewellery that is an expression of their identity.

Tanishq and women’s empowerment

Then there is Tanishq’s latest campaign that comes with the tagline Every woman is a diamond. The ad lauds achievers, delivering the message that women who go on to make waves work hard to get success. It plays up the grit, determination and all the hard work that goes into becoming an achiever. The campaign draws comparisons with a diamond that is formed deep inside the earth under extreme pressure, and achievers who overcome all kinds of difficulties to become personalities of note.

The campaign provides glimpses of ordinary people who rose to become achievers through their hard work. We get to see entrepreneur-cum-designer Lakshmi N Menon, who has worked tirelessly to rehabilitate the inhabitants of a flood-ravaged village in Chendamangalam, Kerala. Next comes the Bullet Queen of Kerala, Shyni Rajkumari, who created the first women’s biker club in the state, and who tours the country with fellow women biking enthusiasts to spread awareness about violence against women. The campaign also features Odette Katrak, environmentalist and sustainability champion, who co-founded Beautiful Bengaluru, a people’s initiative to make the city waste-free. The campaign successfully ties up the remarkable lives of these achievers with jewellery, underscoring the celebration of all facets of a woman’s life.

Tanishq has done yet another campaign for its Alekhya range, coming out with two heart-warming digital films. The first commercial shows employees decorating their office for Diwali. The man in the frame takes this opportunity to gift a dazzling necklace to the lady boss. “Congratulations for the start-up’s first Diwali,” the man tells her. He then goes on to ask if he could join his wife in her endeavour. To this, the woman humorously replies that he is welcome for a job interview.

The tagline of the next film is Naye milestone wali pehli Diwali. We see a mother gifting her daughter a beautiful jewellery set from Tanishq on Diwali. The mother then tells the daughter that she has helped her celebrate several such milestones right from her birth. She recounts several firsts -- from celebrating the first Diwali as a mother, as a single parent, and now commencing a Ladakh road trip with her daughter on a bike. It’s a powerful commentary on not just the mother-daughter relationship, but also on two women living life on their own terms, without caring for societal norms.

All these campaigns are a clear departure from the hackneyed and ‘safe’ storyboards that jewellery ads are known to stick to. They infuse freshness and a much-needed newness into the stories around jewellery, and one can only hope to see more of them in the coming days.