Our score: 7/10 · Zoya, “Her Again”
Verdict: A distinct, art-directed brand mood piece that stands apart from festive jewellery clutter but soft-pedals the product sell.
What works
- Casting Anoushka Shankar as a woman at the top of her game
- Spice memory gives the collection a specific sensory hook
- The brief targets women in their 40s and 50s as protagonists
What misses
- The jewellery feels like a supporting character in its own launch
- No clear purchase reason beyond the mood and the muse
The lesson: When selling to women over 40, make her the subject of her own desire and anchor the product in a sensory memory cue.
The ad
Zoya, the Tata Group’s luxury jewellery atelier, has launched “Her Again,” a High Jewellery collection inspired by Indian spices and their hold on cultural memory. TBWA\Lintas conceptualised the campaign and Bharat Sikka shot it. Anoushka Shankar, the sitarist and composer, is the film’s central presence. She walks through an Indian spice market, and a familiar fragrance leads her into memories: a bougainvillea garden, a game of hopscotch, a carousel ride. The jewellery appears inside these re-lived moments rather than on a pedestal. The collection translates the colours of turmeric, mace, cardamom, saffron and rose into gemstones, unusual stones and detailed craftsmanship. The campaign is running across digital, print, social media and PR, supported by visual merchandising and in-person events at Zoya boutiques and galleries.
What works
The brief is the strongest part. Vasudha Misra, chief creative experience officer (North) at TBWA\Lintas, says the intent was to address women in their 40s and 50s as people at the prime of their lives, not through their children or partners. That is a genuinely underrepresented frame in Indian advertising, and the casting protects it. Shankar is presented as a professional at the top of her game, not as a mother or wife in the background of a family story.
The spice hook gives the film a concrete sensory logic. Smell is a well-known memory trigger, and naming turmeric, mace, cardamom, saffron and rose turns a vague “return to self” idea into a colour and gemstone system. Amanpreet Ahluwalia, business head at Zoya, frames the collection as an inward journey toward a forgotten self, which is more distinctive than another festive gold-and-sequins set piece.
What misses
The campaign may be more memorable as a mood film than as a product launch. The source describes memories, colour and sensory experiences, but not a conflict or a clear reason to choose Zoya over another high-jewellery house. The pieces surface inside gardens and childhood games, which makes the jewellery feel like a supporting character in its own story. If the goal is desire, the film leans on Shankar’s presence and art direction to carry it.
The verdict
Score: 7/10. “Her Again” is a confident, well-crafted shift away from category clichés. The casting and the spice-memory idea are strong. But the commercial pull is soft: the viewer may remember the feeling more than the collection. It stands out from the festive jewellery clutter, yet stops short of making the product the hero.
The lesson
When advertising to women over 40, make her the subject of her own desire, not a role in someone else’s life. Anchor a luxury story in a specific sensory cue—smell, colour, sound—and let the product surface through memory. That is more distinctive than another wide shot of a model in a banquet hall.
Watch the original: Zoya on YouTube. Shown for review; the rights stay with the brand.
Source: Afaqs!
