De Beers, Your Desperateness Is Showing: What Happens When Western Luxury Meets Indian Sentiment – and Misses the Mark!!

Yesterday was Friendship Day, and very soon it’ll be Raksha Bandhan – that ever-resonant Indian celebration of love between brothers and sisters. Festivals like these are sacred, emotional... and yes, highly monetizable. And as always, brands want to climb onto the gravy train – chasing eyeballs, engagement, and, of course, money moolah. Fogg tried the brother-sister track for the first time. But not to be left behind, the elephant in the diamond room – De Beers – made its move too.

Nostalgia or Strategy?

Yesterday, De Beers unveiled its “Best from Bestie” campaign – in vintage black-and-white sepia tones, aiming to tap into the nostalgia of old-school friendship. But look closer, and you’ll see the play is deeper.

DeBeers tried it all. Gifting a diamond on the birth of a baby, Daughter getting a diamond from her  Father, Lovers for ever strategy and even a daring I, Me myself tack where a woman can gift herself a diamond! 

De Beers has long tried to crack the Indian market, but with limited success. India remains gold-obsessed, and De Beers’ "diamond forever" proposition hasn’t quite struck gold. Their previous “father-daughter gifting” angle fizzled – mostly because, let’s face it, in Indian households, gifting control lies with the mother. Dad is just a debit card. Or now, a UPI app.

So what next? Shift the lens. Enter: friendship day meets Raksha Bandhan gifting – with a 35+ women-centric campaign that walks a very thin line between intimate friendship and coded lesbian overtones.

Target Missed?

Of course, the LGBTQ+ audience might feel seen – and that’s a win. But what about the general consumer? The average Indian family watching ETV Win – a bastion of traditional entertainment – is left confused or worse, alienated. And then there’s the Western couple shown in the campaign. Aspirational? Possibly. Relevant to Indian gifting dynamics? That’s debatable.

The question isn’t whether the campaign is inclusive or bold. The real question is: Who is it for? Why push a message that doesn’t align with the behaviors, beliefs, or spending patterns of the core consumer base?

Final Thought

Some might accuse me of reading too much into an ad. But isn't that what an academician, researcher and a marketing blogger is supposed to do? Ask the uncomfortable questions, open the debate, and push brands to think deeper than surface-level sentiment? Because nostalgia may sell, but misplaced messaging? That’s a harder gem to polish.

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