Pongal, one of Tamil Nadu’s most significant harvest festivals, is here—and so are the eyes of advertisers. Celebrated over four days and observed as Bhogi, Thai Pongal, Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal, the festival typically unfolds in mid-January, coinciding with Makar Sankranti. This year, Pongal is being celebrated from January 14 to January 17.
While deeply rooted in Tamil culture, Pongal’s significance extends beyond Tamil Nadu to parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, and across India through parallel harvest festivals such as Lohri and Sankranti. Together, these festivals mark one of the earliest large-scale consumption moments of the year, setting the tone for consumer sentiment and brand activity in the months ahead.
According to Shriram Ramesh, Senior General Manager, Madison World, Pongal remains a high-intent festive season in Tamil Nadu, with added significance this year due to political developments ahead of state elections and a strong slate of Pongal film releases. “These factors are driving higher-than-usual consumer attention and media consumption, which in turn is expected to push advertising spends upward during this period,” he said.
Beyond its cultural importance, Pongal has long held strategic value for advertisers. As the first major festive occasion of the calendar year in the South, it signals a reset after year-end fatigue and serves as an early indicator of how brands plan to deploy their marketing budgets. Over the years, Pongal has evolved into a reliable testing ground for new campaigns, formats and promotional strategies, particularly for FMCG, auto, retail and consumer durables brands.
Shrikant Shenoy, AVP, Lodestar UM, said, “The key shift this year is not simply from traditional media to digital, but towards measurability and screen-led planning. While digital, including connected TV, now accounts for nearly 60% of spends, television itself is evolving, blurring the line between broadcast and digital. At the same time, print is regaining relevance among established brands seeking trust and credibility.”
Experts point out that television continues to remain the dominant Pongal medium, driven by its unmatched reach and high-impact festive programming. At the same time, digital and connected TV are seeing incremental budget increases, fuelled by measurability, performance tracking and increasingly screen-led planning. Print, meanwhile, has held steady, retaining its position as a high-trust reminder medium for established brands. Retail and e-commerce continue to account for the bulk of festive visibility in Tamil Nadu.
For much of the last decade, Pongal has also been one of the most predictable moments on India’s advertising calendar. High-impact outdoor advertising dominated the festive landscape, with brands racing to lock in premium OOH inventory across Chennai and key tier-II towns between January 15 and 20. Billboards, bus shelters and transit media became the primary battleground, signalling festive presence through scale and visibility.
This year, however, the Pongal advertising playbook is showing signs of evolution—in terms of media mix and intent. While traditional platforms continue to anchor festive visibility, brands are increasingly layering digital, connected TV and creator-led formats to drive deeper engagement beyond awareness.
According to industry estimates, total ad spending for Pongal across platforms stood at around ₹700 crore last year. This year, budgets are expected to rise by nearly 10% across sectors.
Before turning to how Pongal 2026 is shaping up, it is useful to step back and examine the last two festive cycles to establish critical context. According to data from TAM Media Research (AdEx India), Pongal advertising over the past two years reflects divergent momentum across media. During the January 1–20 Pongal window, television ad volumes declined 15%in 2025, with indexed volumes falling to 85 in Jan’25 from 100 in Jan’24, signalling a pullback in TV-heavy festive bursts despite the medium’s continued dominance. FMCG categories such as toilet soaps, cleaners and washing powders remained the largest contributors on TV, with Hindustan Unilever retaining its position as the top advertiser across both years.
Print, in contrast, displayed relative resilience, with indexed ad volumes inching up to 103 in Jan’25, reinforcing its role as a stable festive medium, particularly for retail-led categories. Electronics and durables retailers, two-wheelers, cars and jewellery continued to drive print advertising during Pongal. Radio saw a marginal dip, with volumes easing to an index of 93, though it continued to attract jewellery, retail and real estate advertisers during the festive period.
The most pronounced shift, however, was visible in digital, where Pongal-period ad volumes surged sharply. Digital advertising recorded an indexed growth of 249 in Jan’25, up from 100 in Jan’24, led by e-commerce, online services and platform-driven advertising, with brands such as Flipkart, Amazon and Reliance Retail featuring prominently.
Consumer sentiment lifts media appetite
Industry executives point to cautious optimism in advertiser sentiment this Pongal, driven by improved category outlooks and higher consumer attention.
Compared to last year, when festive spends were restrained amid economic uncertainty, Pongal 2026 is seeing renewed momentum, particularly from FMCG and auto brands. Pricing resets following GST changes and sustained demand indicators have encouraged advertisers to open up promotional budgets more confidently.
Ramesh added that television continues to dominate the Pongal media mix in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh due to its reach and festive programming, while digital is seeing incremental growth by complementing TV through consideration and action. Print and OOH remain important for retail and local advertisers, with influencer marketing steadily rising as brands tap regional creators for cultural amplification.
Retail remains the festive engine
Linked closely to the harvest cycle and post-season liquidity, the period has traditionally seen jewellery, apparel and large-format retail brands take the lead in festive advertising, using Pongal as a key moment to drive footfalls and big-ticket purchases. That pattern, industry executives say, continues to hold true in 2026.
Shridhar Ramanujam, CEO, Brand Communications, stated that what has changed this year is that e-commerce platforms are increasingly acting as an extension of traditional retail this year. “Earlier, consumers would travel to cities like Madurai or Trichy to access certain products. Today, online platforms have expanded availability and delivery across categories and smaller towns. Platforms are using Pongal like any other sale moment, reflecting how online buying has widened its footprint.”
Retail continues to anchor Pongal advertising in the state, with jewellery chains, textile majors and established local retailers leading spends, often ahead of FMCG or consumer durables. Much of this communication still leans on television and print as tried-and-tested reminder media, particularly for brands seeking mass reach and top-of-mind recall during the high-intent festive window.
According to Ramanujam, while e-commerce brands are leaning more aggressively on digital, long-standing retail players, from saree stores to jewellery chains, continue to prioritise television and print for festive visibility. “I don’t see a significant shift yet in these categories. It largely feels similar to previous years,” he added.
However, some sources from Chennai have pointed out that retail has been dull this Pongal. Additionally, spending on influencer marketing is expected to increase.
Alongside retail, FMCG and automobiles, especially two-wheelers, are also emerging as key growth drivers, supported by pricing resets, promotional pushes and sustained demand indicators. Experts note that categories such as home appliances and consumer durables are also stepping up visibility, particularly through print-led communication in Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, digital-first categories such as e-commerce, CPG and financial services are expanding their festive presence, signalling how consumption has widened across categories and geographies, including smaller towns.
Alongside retail, FMCG and automobiles, especially two-wheelers, are also emerging as key growth drivers, supported by pricing resets, promotional pushes and sustained demand indicators. Adding to this, U S Kutty, CEO and Director, Komevertika, noted that categories such as home appliances and consumer durables are also stepping up visibility, particularly through print-led communication in Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, digital-first categories such as e-commerce, CPG and financial services are expanding their festive presence, signalling how consumption has widened across categories and geographies, including smaller towns.
The Changing Pongal Playbook
One point on which industry experts broadly agree is the growing share of digital in Pongal advertising spends. This year, brands are allocating incremental budgets to digital and screen-led platforms, driven by measurability, sharper targeting and the ability to complement mass media during a high-attention festive window.
Short-form video platforms are seeing heightened traction as well. Neha Markanda, Chief Business Officer, ShareChat and Moj, noted that with Tamil Nadu among the states with the highest internet penetration, brands are increasingly leaning into hyperlocal, language-first strategies. Historically, Pongal has driven over 600 million views and a 10X spike in DAUs on the platforms, attracting brands such as ITC and Coke Studio Tamil.
The recalibration is clearly visible in the nature of Pongal campaigns rolled out this season. Brands such as South Indian Bank and Birla Opus Paints have leaned into narrative-led digital films, rooted in everyday Tamil households, using Pongal as a cultural backdrop to reinforce themes of trust, togetherness and new beginnings, rather than relying solely on high-decibel festive messaging.
Other brands have moved beyond conventional advertising. Nutella, for instance, hosted a creator-led Pongal retreat in Tamil Nadu, blending traditional rituals with modern brand engagement. Even outdoor, long the dominant Pongal medium, is being reimagined rather than replaced. Campaigns like Continental Coffee’s partnership with Platinum Outdoor transformed city touchpoints into culturally immersive installations, moving away from high-decibel billboards towards contextual, experience-led OOH.
Compared to previous years, where festive visibility was driven largely by outdoor scale, Pongal 2026 reflects a more balanced, multi-format approach, with OOH working alongside digital, creators and experiential storytelling.
Experts note that Pongal has increasingly become a must-plan festival for national advertisers. Over the past two to three years, brands have shifted from treating it as a purely regional or visibility-driven moment to a full-funnel opportunity. Media strategies are becoming more local and context-driven, with deeper regionalisation in language, cultural cues and platforms.
This is also reflected in digital-led innovations. Flipkart reimagined the iconic Pongal ritual of the pot boiling over through a gamified digital experience, while bigbasket rolled out a harvest-festival-focused creator campaign showcasing regional celebrations alongside its 10-minute delivery proposition.
Taken together, Pongal 2026 reflects a broader recalibration in festive advertising. While outdoor remains culturally powerful, its dominance is now complemented by digital, connected TV, influencer-led storytelling and experience-driven formats. Rather than a single-medium burst, brands are approaching Pongal with sharper intent—seeking balance between tradition and transformation, cultural relevance and measurable outcomes.
The result is a Pongal season focused less on loud visibility and more on meaningful engagement in one of South India’s most emotionally resonant markets.