In the Bollywood movie ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’, Bunny’s wanderlust and his unforgettable dialogue, “Main udna chahta hoon, daudna chahta hoon, bas rukna nahi chahta,” captures the spirit of young travellers everywhere. With its recent re-release in Indian theatres, audiences are feeling nostalgic, hoping they could also experience travel the way Bunny does in the movie. Nasher Miles, a luggage brand that caught on to the pulse of its audience, recently leveraged this moment to craft a relatable reel enacting what it would be like to travel like Bunny and Naina.
This nod to pop culture is a broader trend among luggage brands as they harness nostalgia, innovation, and storytelling for the peak travel season.
Embracing pop culture and storytelling
Nasher Miles’ relatable reel isn’t its only move. The brand captured the excitement of 2025’s eight long weekends through an engaging social media creative, encouraging travellers to make the most of these opportunities.
Its year-end campaign, ‘#SantaOffDuty’, took a playful twist by letting Santa relax while the brand stepped in with a gamified ‘Spin the Wheel’ campaign, offering prizes from partners like boAt and EaseMyTrip. By onboarding cricketer Rishabh Pant as a brand ambassador and collaborating with Zepto for swift luggage deliveries, the agency has a knack for addressing consumer pain points while amplifying engagement.
Surbhi Allagh, co-founder of itch, the agency that worked on the brand’s campaigns notes, “Whether we’re actively travelling or dreaming about the next adventure, travel is always on our minds. Approaching luggage marketing goes beyond simply focusing on the travel season; it’s about recognising how deeply travel is woven into our lives.”
The agency designs campaigns that connect with this sentiment and cater to all kinds of travellers and occasions, whether it is family vacations, business trips, destination weddings, religious travel, or even concert travel.
Allagh notes the significant role social media plays in inspiring travel plans and how seasonal experiences like cherry blossom season in Japan or concert travel have gained popularity.
“These are no longer just fleeting trends but deeply rooted aspirations for many, fueled by rising disposable incomes and the growing accessibility of travel.”
Krishna Iyer, Director of Marketing at MullenLowe Lintas Group, emphasises the emotional depth in such campaigns: “Travel isn’t just movement; it’s an emotion. Effective campaigns gauge these moments and translate them into compelling storytelling, ensuring brands stay top-of-mind at every stage of a traveller’s journey.”
Tackling consumer concerns with creativity
One of the most memorable campaigns from a luggage brand tested the durability of the brand’s products. Whether someone is travelling with their suitcase across Europe’s markets to celebrate an anniversary or gauge the thrill of zipping down the Samruddhi Highway en route to Benares, one’s luggage must endure it all. Krishna Iyer, Director of Marketing, MullenLowe Lintas Group shares, “Peak travel season isn’t just about destinations—it’s about the journeys that test both travellers and their luggage. Travel isn’t just movement; it’s an emotion. The focus should be on storytelling that mirrors real journeys.”
This thought laid the foundation for well well-received ‘Tested Like Samsonite’ campaign. Crafted by MullenLowe Lintas Group, the campaign featured icons like Amitabh Bachchan, Yuvraj Singh, and Mithali Raj, emphasising their stories and spirit. The films wanted to highlight the brand’s durability and celebrate the human spirit as they face life’s challenges.
Given that durability is often a traveller’s top concern, other brands have also addressed the pain points through their content. The relatively newer Urban Jungle had a bold response to scepticism about their product. After receiving a social media comment questioning the strength of its luggage, the brand tested it in a rage room, proving its sturdiness under extreme force.
Similarly, Nasher Miles partnered with quick commerce service, Zepto, releasing a campaign that pointed out the struggles of dealing with your travel bags breaking right when you need to leave for your trip. The humorous ad film delivered the message – if your bag causes you problems last minute, order it on the quick commerce platform and get it delivered within minutes.
Targeting the Gen Z and millennial traveller
When using social media to target an audience, it's often to reach the younger consumer base with disposable income. Urban Jungle cleverly jumped on the Spotify Wrapped bandwagon during the peak season, creating a relatable post for Indian travellers. Highlighting behaviours like “you are one of the top 0.001% people whose plan made it out of the group chat,” the brand blended humour with insight into consumer habits.
Similarly, Mokobara, a newer player in the luggage industry, knows how to speak to younger audiences. Its ongoing ‘Going Places’ campaign employs influencer collaborations and cinematic content, to engage with consumers. One such reel by content creator @saanctiti used metaphors to address both physical and emotional baggage. The partnership aimed to address the brand’s ability to compartmentalise baggage and instead, cleverly utilising metaphors to point out the need to let go of emotional baggage before travelling.
Mokobara’s partnerships have extended to blinkit for instant product availability and even included a memorable moment at a Diljit Dosanjh concert, where the singer gifted a fan a Mokobara suitcase onstage.
“The younger generation is in tune with their feelings and loves content that resonates emotionally,” notes Ramya Ramachandran, Head of Marketing at uppercase. She shares, “Wellness travel and sustainable/responsible tourism are rapidly growing segments. uppercase is appealing to the next generation of travellers by encouraging them to travel responsibly and join the eco-tribe.”
Additionally, she shares an uptick in Gen Z’s attending concerts. “To capture this segment, we've partnered with Sunburn as an associate sponsor, targeting the concert-going and music-loving audience.”
Leveraging influencer and platform partnerships
The younger audiences are also influenced by content creators on social media. Ramachandran comments that uppercase’s campaign features influencers exploring destinations like Georgia and Abu Dhabi, highlighting sustainable travel with its eco backpacks and eco-trolleys.
“These campaigns, comprising engaging reels and stories, aim to drive social media engagement and reach audiences who follow these influencers and share similar interests.”
The brand has collaborated with a diverse range of influencers, from Jannat who has 49 million followers to Ashish Bhatia who has over 1 million followers.
Additionally, Ramachandran mentions that the brand is also reaching out to travellers through targeted ads on flights and hotel bookings on travel sites like MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, and Red Bus.
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Kaanchan Shah, Head of Marketing at Bagline, highlights the growing trend of ‘bleisure’ (business + leisure) and experiential travel, driven by Gen Z’s preference for solo trips.
She shares, “These trends are influencing content creation and targeted messaging, with the "airport look" also gaining increasing attention and prominence.” Bagline has leveraged this insight into its social media content and partnered with influencers.
To engage these audiences, Bagline’s campaigns focus on emphasising style, leveraging CGI, AR, and VR on platforms like Instagram and YouTube to create engaging content.
“We adopt a 360-degree campaign approach, with influencer marketing and performance marketing serving as key pillars of our strategy. Recognising the growth and demand of Q-commerce platforms, we are aligning with this trend by ensuring all our brands are available on Zepto,” she mentions.
As luggage brands navigate India’s travel season, their focus is not just on selling products but on creating experiences that resonate deeply with diverse traveller personas. From pop culture integrations to gamified campaigns and eco-friendly innovations, these brands aim to show that luggage is more than a travel essential.