Oh- ice cream- joy packed in a brick, scoop or a cup. Universally beloved, one could create an ice cream campaign with nothing but a picture of a kid with a sugar-rush moustache and still move units. It is the one indulgence no nutritionist can shame you for on your birthday, the only thing that can close a breakup with a sliver of dignity, and maybe the only possible time where eating straight from the container while weeping during a romantic comedy is acceptable.
So naturally, one is disappointed when campaigns for such an emotionally potent, whimsical, and utterly impulsively delicious product fail to match its energy. It is one category where one sees a possibility of unhinged creativity—fireworks of flavours—chaos in a cone. But what do we get instead?
“Summer just got sweeter- a mood elevator proposition.”
That’s the creative Everest we’ve scaled. While truly scooping the bottom of the originality barrel.
Ice Cold Ice Cream Campaigns.
Ice cream, the anarchist – the rebellion is now dressed in a bow tie and told to behave. Mostice cream campaigns fall into a few predictable categories. The Cute Kid Campaign – where a wide-eyed, chubby kid with chocolate-dipped noses licks cones the size of their heads. A classic. Safe. The Close-Up Slow-Melt Shot – A vanilla swirl slowly melting under studio lights while a voice whispers sensually about ‘pure pleasure’—because to sell food by making it sound like soft-core dessert erotica. The Faux-Witty Millennial Appeal – “We put drama in a tub!” or “Scoop, there it is!” served with pastel fonts and a wink that’s trying too hard. And finally – We Did Try To Be Adventurous– in romance, in crime, in breakup and in family- ice cream solves every problem- because a bite of something this delicious is such a mood elevator that anything and everything goes.
And just when you think someone might break out of this icy cold creative coma—maybe throw a dinosaur in a skirt eating cookie dough out of an upside-down refrigerator, you are yanked back into the “deliciously predictable” comfort of a teenager giggling while eating gelato under fairy lights. The orange-headed chief of a nation is more fun than the ice cream ads.
Why? What’s stopping ice cream brands from going full throttle?
It seems that ice cream as a category is in charge of the UN peacekeeping mission somewhere in the Middle East. Wake up, ice cream is not an insurance policy. It’s not a shampoo that needs to convince you that it can change your life. It is simply sugar, fat, and happiness whipped together and frozen into an edible emotion. The brands don’t need to play safe. It must not play safe. Or take itself too seriously. Yet, all the communication behaves like they’re selling experimental toddler toys to teenagers.
Killing fun with logic. The Dairy factory.
Could it be… fear?
Maybe the CMOs are not convinced of the fun part of ice cream. After all, after all the screaming and vibrant colours, the ice cream with its number of scoops ultimately ends in the boring Excel sheet, where logic must explain the actions.
The CMOs are afraid to get too edgy. The fight between frozen dessert and milk-based ice cream is still undecided. Or maybe it is far easier to tick the boxes: Product shot? Check. Generic joy? Check. Tagline involving “cool,” “scoop,” or “melts your heart”? Triple check. Watch Vadilal and Amul.
Not Everything Is Vanilla.
Brands have tried to push the envelope… sort of. Some tried wicked humour that would give the standup comedian a heart attack. A few introduced ‘weird’ flavours like matcha, wasabi, or activated charcoal—because nothing says “fun” like eating something that tastes like regret or can give you a perfect Instagram post. Some have been trying to craft artisan, limited edition, boutique scoops. Too rational, logical. Stooping to Reason-to-buy, Differentiator in a fun category. Despite such adventures, the ice cream brand advertising campaigns are like the office party where everyone is encouraged to “let loose” but end up talking about quarterly goals over mocktails.
You can watch BEDU SAMBAL LEGA, Wah waali News.
Dinshaw’s tried Wakao moments– a series of episodes (episode 2, Episode 3, episode 4) , and Tongue out, and now have tried again with ‘The Don’, but wish they could have pushed it further.
Ice cream is still in the back, gently swirling. The brand is worried that if it shows a unicorn crying over spilt sorbet, someone at Legal will panic.
But maybe it’s not just caution. Perhaps it’s the flavour problem.
Ice cream, at its core, is about taste. And taste—both in the mouth and in advertising—is subjective. Maybe creative teams are paralysed by too much flavour. Do they go “hippie pistachio in Goa” or “double chocolate from Berlin”? Should the ad be ASMR-tender or absurdist-slapstick? Maybe it’s nothing but the creative trying to be everything to everyone and end up as emotionally depleted as melted vanilla in a paper cup?
A Shout Out To Ice Cream Brands.
Not so radical a thought. Stop making safe ice cream ads. Make them unhinged, weird, and let the cookie crumble.
Why not show a revenge story between rival ice cream trucks set to an 80s synth soundtrack? Or a mockumentary where each flavour represents a political party? Or a horror spoof where a haunted fridge seduces people with midnight cravings?
It’s ice cream, not foreign policy- even that is much funnier with all the tariffs.
Push the cone. Lick the line. But, stop playing it safe. Let there be fun- before the new world of revolts against the strait-jacketed blueberry cone.
Because if we’re being honest, the only thing more disappointing than a melted scoop is an ice cream campaign that plays it cool when it could’ve gone completely bonkers.
The Blackpink – Ice cream sounds much better and impulsively crafty than the ice cream ads one sees.
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