MUMBAI: Lights, camera, action, India’s advertising pie in 2025 is anything but half-baked. The first half of the year has seen TV, radio, and print rise with renewed swagger, even as digital took a cautious breather, according to a trends report by Excellent Publicity in partnership with TAM Adex and RCS India.
Television strutted confidently, clocking a 27 per cent surge in ad volumes and a 64 per cent jump in spends over 2023. Unsurprisingly, Star India ruled the charts, while Jio Hotstar topped brand visibility. Together, Sports and GECs claimed 84 per cent of ad time, proving that prime time still makes advertisers shine. Entertainment, e-commerce, and social media alone accounted for 25.6 per cent of volumes.
Radio kept its local beat alive, growing 10 per cent in revenues over 2023. Real estate and cars dominated the airwaves, with Maruti Suzuki India the top advertiser and Jeena Sikho the loudest brand. The real showstopper? Commercial vehicles, which roared with a 24x spike in ad spends, underscoring radio’s rural and tier-2 pull.
Print, once counted out, flipped back into relevance with 26 per cent growth YoY. Cars led the page with 8.9 per cent of spends, while Retail Departmental Stores made a debut in the top 10. Allen Career Institute continued to hold the spotlight, and two-wheelers raced ahead with a 31 per cent surge in spends, showing print’s enduring power in suburban and semi-urban India.
Digital, meanwhile, had a paradoxical season. Though overall spends dipped 8 per cent YoY, the platform saw its highest number of advertisers in three years. Online shopping led the charge with 11.2 per cent of total spends, Amazon India as the top advertiser and Amazon the most visible brand. Quirky shifts included washing powders and liquids exploding by 21x and perfumes/deodorants by 6x, while programmatic accounted for 88.3 per cent of spends, cementing automation’s dominance.
As Excellent Publicity co-founder Vaishal Dalal put it: “TV still captures attention, radio keeps it local, print earns back trust, and digital is sharper than ever. The winners are those who embrace each medium’s strengths while staying innovative.”
India’s ad world, it seems, is learning to juggle tradition with tech – and in 2025, every medium is fighting for its close-up.
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