Nationalism extends writ over Friendship Day, Raksha Bandhan ads this year

There are often ads with messages for soldiers or those with storylines wrapped around armed forces

As Raksha Bandhan kicks off the festive season for brands and advertisers, viewers are bombarded with campaigns trying to be topical and relatable. This year, most advertisements have tuned into the larger nationalistic-patriotism narrative that seems to have the nation in its thrall, with a few going down the social messaging track. While brands such as Nickelodeon, Lava, Reliance Jewels among others have used the backdrop of the armed forces and nationalism, some like Amazon and Vodafone have taken a self-deprecatory look at their core promise to deliver a social message. And the interesting thing, say experts, is that the