What if a newspaper could actually talk to you?
That is exactly what Habuild has attempted this Raksha Bandhan, turning an ordinary newspaper page into an interactive festive experience that comes with a real rakhi, a personal letter and a digital surprise.
Readers opening their newspapers this week discovered a small blue envelope attached to an inside page. Inside the envelope was a blue-thread rakhi with small beads, along with a folded letter.
The unusual newspaper insert from Habuild, an online yoga platform, has since started making its way across social media, with people calling attention to the thought and execution behind the idea.
When a Newspaper Starts Talking
The page itself has been designed to resemble a traditional puja thali.
It features roli, rose petals and a bowl of pedas, all printed in colour. At the centre sits a QR code with a simple message: “Scan the Gift.”
Scan it with a smartphone and the newspaper page suddenly becomes interactive. A video featuring Saurabh Bothra, who leads Habuild’s online yoga sessions, begins playing.
The experience then takes users to a signup page for a free 14-day online yoga challenge, which can be gifted to a brother or sister.
So, what begins as a newspaper advertisement turns into something that can actually be gifted.
A Few Words That Feel Very Familiar
The physical gift may catch attention, but the letter inside the envelope is what gives the campaign its emotional layer.
Written in Hinglish, it begins with three familiar reminders that siblings often give each other:
“Medicines le li?”
“Thoda walk kar liya karo.”
“Apni health ka bhi dhyaan rakha karo.”
The message then explains the feeling behind these everyday reminders:
“Bas khayal rakhte hain, bina bataye, bina jataye, ek-doosre ko healthy aur khush dekhne ki khwahish.”
It ends with the campaign’s central message:
“Toh is Raksha Bandhan, sirf raksha ka promise nahi. Health ka Shagun bhi dijiye.”
An Advertisement Designed to Be Kept
Most newspaper advertisements are read and forgotten. Habuild’s execution takes a different approach.
The page has been designed as something people can hold on to. The rakhi can be removed and tied, the letter can be saved, and the QR code can be scanned again.
There is also a significant physical element to the execution. Each newspaper copy carries a hand-applied envelope containing the rakhi and folded letter, turning a mass medium into something that feels personal.
The campaign is built around the line “Iss Raksha Bandhan dijiye Health ka Shagun” and the hashtag #HabuildHealthKaShagun.
The idea reimagines the traditional concept of shagun by positioning good health as a gift siblings can give one another.
From a Newspaper Page to a Shared Experience
The campaign also fits into Habuild’s larger approach of making conventional advertising formats more interactive.
Earlier, the brand created a breathing billboard in Haridwar that encouraged drivers stuck in traffic to pause and breathe along with it — an outdoor execution that also gained attention online.
This time, Habuild has taken that idea into print.
A newspaper page becomes a puja thali. A QR code turns it into a video. A small envelope turns the advertisement into a rakhi gift.
And for a few seconds, the newspaper does something newspapers normally cannot do — it talks back.
