On this page
Flipkart-owned Cleartrip runs cheeky front-page 'apology' ads to Swiggy and Zomato for Big Billion Days travel deals
Our read
Cleartrip's apology ads are most likely a short-lived festive stunt, with a minority chance they grow into a longer rival-baiting campaign.
For operators
Cleartrip's 10 October front-page 'apology' to Swiggy and Zomato, built on three biryanis delivered per second, shows how a rival-jab hook can win attention in a festive season where Redseer estimates Rs 24,000 crore GMV in just the first two days.
Watch
A Swiggy or Zomato public reply to the Cleartrip ads before the end of Big Billion Days would mean the jibe landed and rivals are being pulled into a marketing exchange.
Ask next
What else has Cleartrip launched this year?The report
Flipkart-owned Cleartrip ran front-page apology ads on 10 October in The Economic Times (Bengaluru) and The Gurgaon Times, aimed at Swiggy and Zomato, to promote Big Billion Days 2026 travel deals. Redseer estimates Rs 24,000 crore GMV in the first two days of festive sales.
One email each morning: the day’s top moves in Indian retail, why each matters and what to watch. Free. Stop any time.
Reported figures
From the report. Source details below
| Orders placed across marketplaces: | 8-9 crore |
|---|---|
| Biryanis delivered per second (ad copy): | three |
What to track next
- Cleartrip ad placements in new cities or newspapers during the sale
- Flipkart or Cleartrip disclosing travel booking growth after Big Billion Days
- Redseer's final festive GMV and order tally versus the first-two-day estimate
- Complaints over comparative advertising or withdrawal of the creative
Likely next moves
Our read of what comes next — analysis, not reported by the source.
- Cleartrip is likely to repeat the apology-ad format in other city editions and in digital placements during the sale.
- Flipkart is likely to bundle Cleartrip travel offers more visibly into the Big Billion Days app journey.
- Swiggy and Zomato will more likely than not stay publicly silent, though a playful social reply is possible.
- Rival travel platforms may counter with festive fare and hotel discounts timed to the same shopper traffic.
- Cleartrip is likely to cite booking-volume gains from the campaign once the sale closes.
The counter-case
The case against this reading — not reported by the source.
This is a one-day marketing stunt that is being stretched into a business signal. Two print placements, in the Bengaluru edition of The Economic Times and in The Gurgaon Times, are a small and local buy. Nothing in the signal shows that it moves travel bookings. The Redseer figure (Rs 24,000 crore GMV in the first two days, 8-9 crore orders) covers marketplace festive sales as a whole, mostly goods. It says nothing about Cleartrip or travel, and it cannot be credited to the ad. The 'apology' to Swiggy and Zomato is a pun on food-delivery speed, and neither company is a travel competitor, so it is not a real competitive move. Cheeky brand ads are common in Indian retail, and this one may be forgotten within a news cycle. Cleartrip also remains a smaller player than MakeMyTrip and other online travel agencies, and a witty ad does not change that. The risk is that the desk reads brand buzz as market share gain.
The source
First seen