Plum has rolled out a campaign, 'Nazar Battu' (evil eye ward), to highlight its insurance offerings.

The campaign consists of an ad film that centres on the Nazar Battu and its familiar presence outside homes, offices, and schools, a symbol long associated with protection from the evil eye. It then pulls back to a bigger truth: as India’s business ecosystem scales rapidly, commercial insurance adoption hasn’t kept pace. The film treats this gap as a category problem. If businesses are turning digital-first, risk management needs to be founder-first too. It gently shifts the mindset, positioning Plum Insurance as a practical shield against cyber threats, internal fraud, contractual risks, and asset exposure, and reframes insurance as everyday business sense, not just a compliance formality.

What we think about it: Smartly uses a deeply familiar cultural symbol to lower the guard around a category most founders instinctively avoid, making business insurance feel conversational rather than contractual. That said, its reliance on metaphor may resonate more with digitally native founders than traditional MSMEs, leaving some of the mass market still needing a clearer, more urgent call to action.

Shreyas Achar, head of marketing, Plum, said, “The idea was to mirror modern creator behaviour and make insurance feel relatable rather than intimidating. Nazar Battus have long existed as cultural symbols meant to ward off bad luck and negative energy, and we used that metaphor to reflect the everyday anxieties founders live with, while also grounding the conversation in the very real operational risks businesses face. Our aim was to destigmatise commercial protection and integrate it into the founder routine, instead of letting a crisis be the first touchpoint with the category. In a space where B2B communication often feels impersonal, we chose a cultural idea over another deck. We’re not mocking tradition; we’re honouring it, and showing that insurance crisis.”

To extend the campaign, Plum sent 60 Nazar Battu evil-eye dolls to Indian founders, including Hari Ganapathy of PickYourTrail, Ramesh Ravishankar of Highperformr, Anjali Sardana of Pronto, Siddharth Sharma of Yellowkyte, and Anant Ahuja of Irregular Alliance, using a familiar cultural artefact to spark conversation around commercial risk.

Each package includes a letter, a QR code for “Real Protection,” and the line: “Keep the battu for the vibes. Get Plum for everything else.”

The campaign is supported by landing pages showcasing Plum’s business insurance offerings and founder unboxings on social media, as the brand expands its play from employee insurance into commercial risk for startups.