H/L and NorCal Toyota Throw Diwali a Bay Area Party

Most Diwali advertising follows a familiar script — diyas, rangoli, a reverent glow and a family gathered around something sacred. H/L from Oakland and NorCal Toyota put the script down and threw a party instead.

The agency’s new Diwali campaign stars Fijiana, the Richmond-based Indo-Fijian rapper and singer whose 2025 breakout “Welcome to the Bay” has become something close to a regional anthem. The track drives a :30 hero spot that plays less like a holiday ad and more like a music video, shot at night, dressed to the nines and turned all the way up.

Pulling up in style

The spot opens curbside after dark. A door swings open on a Toyota and a woman in a shimmering lehenga steps out, escorted toward the night ahead.

Inside, marigold garlands frame a stage, silhouettes crowd the foreground and Fijiana works the mic. Friends dance, laugh and point proudly at their outfits. The last beat is quieter — party lights rolling across the car’s body before the “Let’s Go Places” sign-off.

Darkness to light, handled with a light touch.

Moving with the culture

The Bay Area is home to one of the largest South Asian populations in the U.S. and is a key community for NorCal Toyota. Reaching younger audiences there meant resisting the way Diwali usually shows up in marketing, where religion and iconography carry the story.

H/L built the campaign around something simpler: the joy of being together and the role music plays when everyone is in the same room. Diwali’s journey from darkness to light is still there. It just has a beat now.

“Diwali can hold both memory and momentum for young Desis,” says Yunilda Esquivel, VP, Director of Multicultural Marketing at H/L. “Culture is never one-dimensional. It is shaped every day by the people who live it. That’s what we wanted to portray in this campaign, giving young South Asians the space to show what Diwali means to them, in their own voices and on their own terms.”

Esquivel calls the project a career-high moment for the team.

The shoot was the celebration

Rather than casting a party, H/L hosted one. The agency invited local Fijiana fans and influencers to the shoot in their Desi-chic best, turning production into a gathering where attendees could meet the artist and each other.

Influencers including Aditi Bagepelli, Simi Kaur, Devi Kaur, Siri Bandaru, Devanshi Mehta, Sri Karthikeyan and Mahika Valluri shared behind-the-scenes moments across their channels. An interview with Fijiana and additional social content extend the story beyond the spot.

The right voice for the room

Casting Fijiana isn’t borrowed credibility. “Welcome to the Bay” fuses Bay Area rap with sounds from the Indian diaspora and has racked up more than 20 million social views, with plays at games for the Warriors, Giants, 49ers and Oakland Roots.

The song was already the soundtrack for a lot of young Desis in NorCal. H/L and Toyota simply showed up where the music was playing.

Four decades of local momentum

H/L has been independent since 1985 and has worked with Toyota for more than 30 years, with offices in Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix and St. Louis alongside its Oakland headquarters. The agency’s “Make Momentum” credo fits neatly with Toyota’s “Let’s Go Places” — and this campaign is both, moving with a holiday as the next generation redefines it.

Credits

H/L: Trey Curtola, Chairman/CEO; Chris Cronin, Senior VP, Managing Director; Yunilda Esquivel, VP, Director Multicultural Marketing; Dallas Baker, VP, Executive Creative Director; Sophia Pellicoro, VP, Executive Producer; Abel González, Creative Director; Alexandra Braasch, Art Director; Raimundo Martinez, DP/Shooter; Carlos Sanchez, Account Supervisor; Lauren Lew, Sr. Account Executive; Madeleine Peachey, Account Coordinator

Crew: Rashod Edwards, Location Scout; Josh Haskins, Production Designer/Prop Master; Gelli Pascual, Set Dresser; Aria Davis, Art Production Assistant; Brooke Beeson, Gaffer; Max O’Connor, Key Grip; Finn Sparlowe, G&E Swing; Stephen Thorpe, Sound Operator; Rylee Blechman, Boom Operator; Pauline Barry, Hair and Makeup; Curtis Garlick, Production Assistant

Talent: Fijiana, Singer

Influencers: Aditi Bagepelli, Simi Kaur, Devi Kaur, Siri Bandaru, Devanshi Mehta, Sri Karthikeyan, Mahika Valluri

Extras: Sarah Chacha, Frank Nunez, Priya Nykan, Spulu Pasifika, Nirshiee Arumugam, Dhiraj Korwani, Sruti Bandaru

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