# Big Billion Days ad campaign ideas

> Flipkart's Big Billion Days 2026 started on 9 October. What to run before, during and after the sale, a CPM example and the mistakes that waste ad spend.
- **Author**: Marxx
- **Published**: 2026-10-23
- **Category**: Sales events
- **URL**: https://marxx.ai/library-campaigns/big-billion-days-ad-ideas

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Big Billion Days is Flipkart's yearly festive sale. The 2026 edition, its 13th, started on **Friday 9 October**, about a month before Diwali. Plan your ads in three stages: build interest four weeks ahead, launch tested ads in the last two weeks, and spend hardest in the first three days.

## Dates (checked 2026-10-20)

| Item | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 start | Friday 9 October, per [Flipkart's newsroom](https://stories.flipkart.com/announcement/flipkarts-big-billion-days-returns-for-its-13th-edition) (release dated 6 October 2026) |
| Early access | Thursday 8 October for Flipkart Plus, Black and credit card members, per the same release and [Digit](https://www.digit.in/news/general/flipkart-big-billion-days-2026-date-offers-and-more-details.html) |
| End date | Not stated in the sources I checked |
| 2027 | Not announced |

Amazon's [Great Indian Festival](/campaigns/great-indian-festival-ad-ideas) started a day earlier, on 8 October. Diwali 2026 is Sunday 8 November, so the sale began about 30 days before it. Diwali 2027 is Friday 29 October, according to [Dekho Panchang](https://www.dekhopanchang.com/en/festivals/diwali/2027/pune). This is a planning guess, not an announcement: be ready to start a week or two earlier than in 2026.

## What to run and when

| When | Goal | What to run |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 2 weeks before | Build | Product-in-use video, "notify me" sign-ups by lead ad or WhatsApp |
| 2 to 1 weeks before | Test | 3 to 5 offer ads; keep the 1 or 2 that hold attention |
| Final week | Tease | "Starts Friday", retarget people who watched or visited |
| Sale days 1 to 3 | Spend | Best sellers, sale price in rupees, delivery date |
| Rest of the sale | Hold | Rotate creative, switch off tired ads |
| After | Convert | Retarget carts, then move to [Dhanteras](/campaigns/dhanteras-ad-ideas) gifting |

## Why testing early pays

Say your CPM (cost per 1,000 views of your ad) is INR 150 in September and your ad gets a 1.5% click rate. That is 15 clicks per 1,000 views, so a click costs INR 150 / 15 = INR 10.

Say [CPM](/glossary/cpm) rises to INR 210 in sale week. Same ad, same click rate: INR 210 / 15 = INR 14 a click. That is 40% more with no change to the ad. Find your winners before the sale, not during it.

## Angles that hold up next to a marketplace

- **Do not out-discount Flipkart.** Compete on what it cannot offer: your own bundle, a free gift, a longer warranty, a founder's note.
- **Gifting:** festive gift sets with a delivery-by date.
- **Proof:** reviews and photos from real customers, not a stock image.
- **Service:** a WhatsApp number that answers in minutes.

## Mistakes to avoid

- Launching new campaigns on day one, while they are still in the [learning phase](/glossary/learning-phase)
- Matching a marketplace discount without checking [break-even ROAS](/glossary/break-even-roas). Say you sell a INR 1,500 shirt that costs INR 900 to make and ship. Break-even ROAS is 1,500 / 600 = 2.5. At 25% off the price is INR 1,125, the margin is INR 225, and break-even ROAS doubles to 5.
- False urgency, such as a countdown that resets or stock that never runs out. India's consumer regulator lists false urgency among 13 dark patterns in its [November 2023 guidelines](https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1983994)
- A landing page that does not show the sale price

To see what rivals ran in earlier sales, you can search past ads by brand and keyword. We make Marxx, which [tracks competitor ads](/features/competitor-tracking) on Meta and Google and has an AI search over 100M+ ads back to 2022.

## FAQ

### When is Big Billion Days 2026?

It started on Friday 9 October 2026, with early access for Flipkart Plus and Black members on 8 October (checked 2026-10-20).

### When is Big Billion Days 2027?

Flipkart has not announced it. Diwali is on 29 October 2027, ten days earlier than in 2026, so plan for a September start and confirm when Flipkart announces.

### Should I run ads if I only sell on my own site?

Yes, but expect more competition for attention. Run your own clear offer, and test your ads before the sale starts.

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