Brands fall head over heels for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi reboot

Created by Ekta Kapoor and produced under her banner Balaji Telefilms Ltd, the Hindi language series ran on Star Plus for eight years between 2000 and 2008. It popularized actors like Smriti Irani, who went on to serve in the Union cabinet during the Bharatiya Janata Party’s second term at the Centre.

The broadcaster, which plans to have 13 sponsors across television and digital, has onboarded P&G Tide, Fortune Refined Soyabean Oil, and Colgate for TV and Fortune Chakki Fresh Atta for digital sponsorship deals.

The show is selling advertising slots at ₹3.5 lakh-4.5 lakh per 10 seconds, and effective rates are 75% higher as compared to Star Plus’ long-running, leading show Anupamaa, according to experts.

“We are witnessing huge interest from brands given that this is a show that reflects today’s society and issues and also comes with legacy trust,” Ajit Varghese, head of revenue-entertainment and international, JioStar, told Mint.

Brands across packaged consumer goods, e-commerce, auto and consumer durables clearly see an advantage in associating with the show, given that apart from TV, the company’s tech-enabled services on digital will allow for measurable opportunities, and services like pausing ads and brand quizzes, Varghese added.

Strong nostalgic pull

JioStar, which recently launched the show’s promo on social media with Irani returning as Tulsi, the protagonist, plans to scale this momentum via a series of activations.

The promotional plan aims to balance nostalgic familiarity for original fans with fresh storytelling for younger audiences and high-visibility touchpoints to keep the show top-of-mind for target groups. While the original audience base of family viewers, now in their 30s to 50s, remains important, the reboot also addresses modern issues.

Other than people who originally watched the show as adults in the 2000s, Varghese said the new season will also cater to those who were children then and watched it with their parents, besides teenagers who know of Irani as a politician and industry leader.

“Brands who are looking to ride the festive season will also find an opportunity for not just viewership and impressions but also a highly engaged audience,” he said.

To be sure, experts emphasize that mass-reach family entertainment like Kyunki… has traditionally attracted categories with broad appeal and high repeat purchase rates, such as packaged consumer goods (particularly home care, personal care, and packaged foods), white goods, financial services, jewellery, and even digital-first brands seeking penetration in small towns.

Now, with Jio at the helm, bundling with telecom plans, device partnerships, or commerce-led integrations is also likely.

Dhiraj Khanna, associate vice-president and cluster head, integrated marketing media agency Mudramax, said the show comes with advantages of strong characters like Irani, who ruled television ratings for years, holds a loyal fan base and the fact that it is meeting the need to add more family-oriented content and programming showcasing women empowerment.

Further, the show will be aired at 10:30pm, the same time slot as the 2000s.

“The buzz (around the show) is high, thanks to a well-orchestrated nostalgia play, influencer-driven teasers, and the cultural memory of the show. What’s fascinating is that Gen Z is discovering Kyunki… not as a daily soap, but as meme material,” said positioning strategist Saurabh Uboweja.

Trendsetter

In the current landscape, the show sits at the intersection of TV and digital, Uboweja added.

So while its core target audience remains 30-plus, urban to semi-urban women who uphold family values, there’s a real opportunity to pull in younger digital audiences through irony, nostalgia, and pop-culture callbacks.

Further, if Kyunki… clicks, it opens doors to a whole IP (intellectual property) universe. Viewers could be in for spin-offs or reboots from other Balaji classics, brand collaborations across fashion, décor, and even AI-generated clips or audio shows.

“The challenge remains one of relevance. Today’s viewer has higher aesthetic expectations, shorter attention spans, and endless choice. The show must evolve in tone, pace, and production to avoid seeming like a legacy piece,” Uboweja added.

The show will premiere on 29 July.