2026 Winner
JURY PRIZE, HUMOUR
GoldHoliday/Seasonal Advertising
Mattel (Uno)
"UNO Lights and Laughs"
Ethnicity Matters
"UNO Lights and Laughs"
Ethnicity Matters
Card games already play a natural role in South Asian family gatherings, especially during Diwali, where laughter, teasing, and intergenerational dynamics are central to the celebration. Mattel’s goal was to position UNO within that existing behaviour in a way that felt earned, while avoiding the surface-level cues that often define holiday marketing during the crowded Q4 period.
Rather than inserting UNO into the celebration, the brand reframed its role within it, positioning the game as a natural extension of those shared moments. The campaign partnered with South Asian-Canadian creator Babbulicious, whose established characters, Rajan and Bibi, represent a recognizable, lived-in version of family life, to anchor a five-part short-form video series built around real Diwali moments. Each episode let UNO sit in the background, facilitating interaction rather than driving it.
Instead of ending with Diwali, the same characters and storytelling continued afterward, showing families still playing, gathering, and joking beyond the holiday itself. Distributed across Instagram and TikTok, the campaign generated 3.76 million views and more than 43,000 interactions, with a 3.43% engagement rate.
By letting cultural insight and creator voice lead the work, the campaign positioned UNO not as a product within the celebration, but as part of the fun itself.
Rather than inserting UNO into the celebration, the brand reframed its role within it, positioning the game as a natural extension of those shared moments. The campaign partnered with South Asian-Canadian creator Babbulicious, whose established characters, Rajan and Bibi, represent a recognizable, lived-in version of family life, to anchor a five-part short-form video series built around real Diwali moments. Each episode let UNO sit in the background, facilitating interaction rather than driving it.
Instead of ending with Diwali, the same characters and storytelling continued afterward, showing families still playing, gathering, and joking beyond the holiday itself. Distributed across Instagram and TikTok, the campaign generated 3.76 million views and more than 43,000 interactions, with a 3.43% engagement rate.
By letting cultural insight and creator voice lead the work, the campaign positioned UNO not as a product within the celebration, but as part of the fun itself.
Credits
Ethnicity MattersBobby Sahni - Partner and Co-Founder
Wendy Castillo McFarlane - Managing Director
Sowmyaa Narayanan - Group Account Director
Tejaswini Iyengar - Account Executive
Sakthivel Yadav - Influencer Specialist
Mattel Canada -
Donna Polimac - Senior Manager, Marketing
Sarthi Vohra - Brand Manager, Marketing
The Archery Club
Baldeep Sehmbi - Creator/Artist
Harman Sehmbi - Creative Director
Baljinder Dhawan - Project Manager