Jumping Rooftops With An Umbrella: When Cadbury Silk Made Grand Gestures Out Of Everyday Moments

June 2020. As India emerged from the first wave of COVID-19 lockdowns into an uncertain world where touch felt dangerous and closeness carried risk, Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk released an advertisement that would become one of 2020's most talked-about romantic campaigns. Conceptualized by Mondelez India and Ogilvy India, the film asked a deceptively simple question—"How far will you go for love?"—then answered it with a visual so audacious and tender that it made viewers smile, share, and wish someone would create a Silk-like moment for them.

The Evolution From Product to Symbol

The umbrella rooftop ad wasn't Cadbury Silk's first foray into romance—the brand had long positioned itself around love and intimacy. But as Ganapathy Balagopalan, Head of Strategic Planning at Ogilvy Mumbai, explained, something fundamental was shifting: "While Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk stories often hinted at a romance, the hero was always the product. It was always about the melty-chocolate. We believe it is time for the brand to evolve from being just a bar of indulgent chocolate to something greater, more desirable—make sharing a Silk, a symbol of romance."

This wasn't just repositioning—it was brand transformation. Cadbury Silk was moving from being a delicious chocolate that lovers might share to becoming the symbol through which romance is expressed. The distinction mattered enormously: in the first model, you buy Silk because it tastes good; in the second, you buy Silk to declare love.

The campaign proposition "How Far Will You Go For Love" had kicked off with a Valentine's Day campaign earlier in 2020. Balagopalan noted that their research had revealed something telling: "We discovered young people don't do enough to show the special someone in their life how they truly feel." The insight was powerful—in an age of constant digital communication, genuine romantic gestures felt increasingly rare.

The Story That Made Hearts Melt

The film opens with a girl stepping out on a sunny street. As she walks, she notices she's in shade. She looks up to find her boyfriend on the terrace holding an umbrella and walking parallel with her while jumping from one terrace to another to protect her from the sun.

The visual was immediately striking—the practical absurdity of a young man navigating rooftops, timing his jumps perfectly to keep pace with his girlfriend walking below, all to save her from sunlight. The physical comedy was obvious, but so was the romantic devotion. This wasn't a grand gesture requiring wealth or connections—just determination, creativity, and willingness to look slightly ridiculous in service of care.

As Zenobia Pithawalla, Senior Executive Creative Director, and Mihir Chanchani, Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy India, explained: "Every great love story starts with a simple question, how far will you go for love? We thought why not make the starting point of all great love stories, the new brand positioning. What followed was the story of a young boy discreetly walking on the roof with an umbrella just to keep his lady love in shade."

The word "discreetly" mattered. He wasn't calling attention to himself, not demanding recognition. He was simply providing shade, jumping building to building, risking scraped knees and awkward explanations to neighbors, all so his girlfriend could walk comfortably in the sun-drenched street below.

The Silk Moment That Completed The Story

To make the moment even sweeter, he shares his Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk with her in a unique way. The creative team described their aspiration: "What we'd like to do is to make every youngster in love, wish somebody created a Silk-like moment for them."

The film concluded with him throwing the Silk bar down to her—she catches it and relishes it. This concluding gesture tied the romantic action to the product, but subtly. The chocolate wasn't why he jumped rooftops; it was how he punctuated the gesture, transforming protective care into shared indulgence.

The classic song "Kiss Me" played in the background, adding nostalgic romantic ambiance that viewers of certain age would immediately recognize while feeling contemporary enough for Gen Z consumption.

The Brand Philosophy: Gestures Over Words

Anil Viswanathan, Director – Marketing (Chocolates) at Mondelez India, articulated the strategic thinking: "Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk has long stood for the best taste of chocolate in India. This has manifested in our communication over the years as the expression of romance amongst Youth. With the youth of the country and their meaning of love evolving, there is a higher emphasis on gestures and acts that keep the romance fresh and alive."

This insight—that love had evolved from declarations to demonstrations, from words to actions—shaped the entire campaign. Modern young Indians, shaped by social media culture and global romantic narratives, valued experiences and gestures over traditional romantic scripts.

Viswanathan continued: "This had led to conceptualizing of the new proposition 'How Far Will You Go For Love' which kick started with the Valentine's Day campaign earlier this year and has now turned into a ritual of sparking new relationships, deepening the meaning of love, and standing for a feeling that can't be purely expressed in words but best felt through acts of active expression."

The phrase "acts of active expression" captured the campaign's essence. Passive love—feeling affection quietly—wasn't enough anymore. Active expression—doing things that demonstrate care—was what defined modern romance.

The Integrated Marketing Genius

The film was part of a larger integrated marketing mix including TV, on-ground, and a high decibel digital/social plan. But the truly clever part was how they launched it: since social media is where Gen Z spends most of its time, the film was launched on Instagram with a meticulously planned sequence of activities which led to the reveal of the film.

The campaign took the umbrella from the film and made it a symbol of love. With the "help" of eight of the top Indian Instagram influencers, who collaborated remotely and passed an umbrella among each other so it could reach the film's protagonist. This influencer relay created anticipation, turned the umbrella into recognizable symbol, and made the film's reveal feel like culmination of community effort rather than corporate broadcast.

This activation demonstrated sophisticated understanding of how Gen Z consumes content—not passively watching ads but actively participating in narratives that unfold across platforms through multiple voices. The influencers weren't just endorsing Silk; they were becoming part of its love story, making followers complicit in the romantic gesture.

Turning Everyday Into Grand

The campaign's genius was showing "how a couple deeply in love turns an everyday moment into something truly grand and special." This framing democratized romance. You didn't need Paris or diamonds or elaborate plans. You needed creativity, effort, and willingness to make someone feel special through unexpected gestures.

The sunny street walk was utterly ordinary—millions happen daily across India. The boyfriend's response—jumping rooftops with umbrella—transformed the mundane into magical. The message was clear: grand gestures don't require grand resources; they require grand intentions.

The Cultural Context: Love in Lockdown Times

The campaign's June 2020 timing added poignancy. India had just emerged from months of lockdown when physical proximity felt dangerous, when seeing loved ones required navigating restrictions and fear. Into this context came an ad celebrating the lengths love makes us go to—literally jumping obstacles to provide comfort.

The campaign offered vicarious romantic fulfillment during a period when actual romance felt constrained by pandemic realities. It reminded audiences that love finds ways to express itself despite obstacles—a message that resonated deeply when COVID had become the ultimate obstacle to normal life.

The Commercial Success

Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk has witnessed evolutionary growth as a symbol of romance between the youth of the country. Whether it's celebrating smaller occasions or making grand gestures with a dash of Silk magic, the brand has been inspiring the youth to celebrate intimate romantic moments in everyday life to keep the relationship healthy.

This positioning gave Silk clear differentiation in the chocolate category. While Dairy Milk positioned itself around family and generosity ("kuch meetha ho jaaye"), Silk owned young romantic love—not engagement or marriage (Celebrations territory) but the exciting, uncertain, gesture-filled phase of new relationships and deepening bonds.

Five Lessons From The Umbrella Rooftop Ad

1. Evolve From Product Hero to Symbolic Enabler

Cadbury Silk consciously shifted from showcasing "melty chocolate" to becoming "symbol of romance." This transformation from product-centric to meaning-centric advertising requires confidence but creates emotional equity specifications never could. The lesson: mature brands should consider whether they've maximized functional positioning and need to evolve toward symbolic meaning. When your product becomes what people use to express something larger than consumption, you've achieved brand transcendence.

2. Make Grand Gestures Accessible Through Creativity

The rooftop umbrella gesture was grand in effort but required no money—just willingness to look silly while protecting someone from sun. This accessibility made the message relatable rather than aspirational. The lesson: when showcasing romantic or caring gestures, demonstrate that thoughtfulness and creativity matter more than resources. This democratizes your brand message, making everyone feel capable of the behaviors you're celebrating rather than excluding those who can't afford expensive gestures.

3. Launch On Platforms Where Your Audience Lives

Launching on Instagram with influencer relay before TV release showed sophisticated understanding of Gen Z media consumption. The campaign came to audiences through voices they already trusted, in formats they already engaged with. The lesson: don't force audiences to come to your channels—bring your campaign to channels they already inhabit. Platform-first thinking, especially for youth-oriented brands, means Instagram/TikTok launches may precede or replace traditional media entirely.

4. Turn Campaign Elements Into Shareable Symbols

The umbrella became symbol passed between influencers and ultimately between real couples inspired by the ad. Creating physical symbols from campaigns gives audiences tangible ways to participate. The lesson: identify which campaign elements could become symbols or rituals audiences might adopt in real life. When campaign components become social currency (like red umbrellas symbolizing protective love), your advertising transcends viewing to become doing.

5. Evolution Requires Explicit Articulation

The Ogilvy team explicitly said "we believe it's time for the brand to evolve" from product to symbol. This wasn't accidental drift—it was conscious strategic shift they articulated clearly. The lesson: major repositioning works best when internal and external stakeholders understand the evolution clearly. Don't just change advertising—explain why you're changing it. This clarity ensures everyone (agency, brand team, distribution, consumers) understands the new direction and can reinforce it through their respective touchpoints.

The Broader Romantic Chocolate Landscape

Balagopalan's observation that "chocolate and romance have always gone hand in hand, but no Indian brand has truly capitalized on the connection until now" was strategically significant. Globally, brands like Ferrero Rocher owned romance through advertising. In India, no chocolate brand had claimed that territory definitively.

Cadbury Silk's "How Far Will You Go For Love" campaign was explicitly designed to fill that gap—to make Silk synonymous with romantic love in India the way other brands were in other markets. The umbrella rooftop ad was opening salvo in sustained campaign to own romantic gesture territory.

This strategic ambition explained the campaign's production values, celebrity-free casting (allowing anyone to see themselves in the roles), and emphasis on everyday settings. Silk was positioning itself not as luxury for special occasions but as everyday tool for expressing ongoing romantic care.

The Youth Connection

Viswanathan's comment that "India's youth has evolved over the years, especially when it comes to seeking love and expressing their emotions in deeper and more meaningful ways" acknowledged generational shift. Millennial and Gen Z Indians approached romance differently than their parents—more openly expressive, less bound by traditional scripts, more influenced by global romantic narratives through media consumption.

The campaign spoke directly to this evolution. The boyfriend didn't ask permission to pursue the girl or seek family approval—he simply demonstrated care through creative gesture. This reflected contemporary urban Indian romance where individual choice and personal expression matter more than traditional courtship rituals.

The Technical Excellence

While production details weren't extensively documented, the rooftop jumping sequence required careful choreography, timing, and likely some special effects to ensure safety while maintaining verisimilitude. The boyfriend had to appear to be genuinely jumping rooftops—dangerous enough to impress but not so dangerous as to seem reckless or suicidal.

The cinematography balanced showing his effort (jumping, maintaining balance, timing movements) with showing her perspective (noticing shade, looking up, seeing him, smiling). This dual perspective let audiences experience both the gesture's execution and reception, making them feel both the giver's determination and receiver's delight.

The Long-Term Campaign Strategy

By June 2020, the "How Far Will You Go For Love" positioning had already appeared in Valentine's Day advertising earlier that year. The umbrella rooftop ad was second major execution, demonstrating Cadbury Silk's commitment to sustained campaigning around consistent proposition rather than one-off creative.

This consistency allowed the brand to own the question. By repeatedly asking "how far will you go for love?" across multiple creative executions, Cadbury Silk was training audiences to associate the question itself with the brand. Eventually, any romantic gesture—whether in real life, movies, or other advertising—could trigger mental association with Silk.

Conclusion: When Chocolate Becomes Cupid

The umbrella rooftop ad succeeded because it understood something fundamental about young love: it's expressed more through doing than saying, more through creativity than resources, more through sustained small gestures than occasional grand ones.

By showing a boyfriend who jumped literal rooftops to provide literal shade—risking literal scraped knees for his girlfriend's literal comfort—Cadbury Silk made tangible the metaphorical question "how far will you go?" The answer, visualized beautifully, was: as far as necessary, even if it means looking ridiculous, risking minor injury, and definitely surprising neighbors.

The Silk chocolate at the end wasn't afterthought—it was punctuation. The gesture said "I care enough to jump rooftops for you." The chocolate said "and I want to share sweetness with you at the end of this absurd, wonderful expression of care."

For Cadbury, the campaign marked successful evolution from product-centric to symbol-centric positioning. Silk was no longer just smooth chocolate; it was what you gave someone to say "I'd jump rooftops for you" without having to actually risk your neck on architectural parkour.

For audiences—particularly young Indians navigating modern romance with its pressures, possibilities, and Instagram documentation—the campaign offered both inspiration and permission. Inspiration to be creative in expressing care. Permission to make grand gestures from everyday moments.

And for that boyfriend still occasionally seen jumping rooftops across India with umbrella in hand, carefully timing his movements to his girlfriend's pace below—whether real or metaphorical, literal or inspired by advertising—the message was beautifully simple: Love doesn't require extraordinary resources. It requires extraordinary willingness to look extraordinary silly while doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

One rooftop at a time. One umbrella at a time. One bar of Silk making the sweetness sweeter, at a time.