How to make video ads for Indian audiences

Choose the language your customers use

Speak the way your customers talk about the problem, not the way your website describes it. For many consumer products that's Hindi mixed with English; for B2B and some city audiences it may be English; for others it's Hindi or another Indian language. If you're not sure, record the same message twice, in two languages, and test them.

Whatever you choose, sound natural. A founder or customer switching between Hindi and English mid-sentence is normal, and it often feels more genuine than a polished script in one language.

Captions: Hinglish, Devanagari or English

Many people scroll with the sound off, so the captions carry the ad. Match the script to how your audience reads:

• Hinglish (Hindi in Roman letters): how many viewers type Hindi every day, and easy to read for people who read mostly in English.
• Devanagari: for audiences who read Hindi in its own script, such as Hindi-first or older viewers.
• English: for English speech and English-first audiences.
• Keep captions word by word and large enough to read on a phone, and highlight the key words.

A structure that works

The basics don't change from market to market:

• Open on the problem, in your customer's own words and language.
• Show the product doing the job, or a customer saying what changed.
• Add one piece of proof you can stand behind.
• End with one clear next step, with prices and offers in rupees.
• Keep it to 15 to 30 seconds for people who don't know you yet.

Test language versions

Make two or three versions of the same ad that differ only in language or caption script: for example Hinglish captions against Devanagari, or a Hindi take against an English one. Keep the hook idea, length and offer the same, and let the results decide which you make more of.

Common mistakes

The usual reasons these ads underperform:

• Translating a script word for word, so it sounds stiff in any language.
• Captions in a script your audience doesn't read comfortably.
• Prices or offers in dollars for an Indian audience.
• Starting with an introduction instead of the problem.

Doing it in MirrorCut

MirrorCut is an AI video editor for your own recordings. Upload the footage and ask; its agent makes the edit on a real timeline, and every change is outlined for you to accept or revert. For example:

• “Add word-by-word Hinglish captions in a bold style”
• “Show the Hindi captions in Devanagari”
• “Make a 30-second ad from this recording, opening on the problem”
• “Reframe it to 9:16 for Reels”

Free tools

No sign-up; they run in your browser.

• Text to SRT converterPaste a transcript and split it into caption lines of the length you choose, then download it as an SRT or VTT file with estimated timings.
• SRT to VTT caption converterConvert caption files between SRT and WebVTT in your browser: paste or drop a file, convert it, and download the result. Nothing is uploaded.

Questions

Should my ad be in Hindi or English?

Use the language your customers use when they talk about the problem. If you're not sure, record both and test them with the same hook and offer.

What is Hinglish, and why use it for captions?

Hinglish is Hindi written in Roman letters, the way many people type it in messages. It's often easier to read on screen for viewers who speak Hindi but read mostly in English.

Can MirrorCut caption Hindi speech?

Yes. MirrorCut captions Hindi speech in Hinglish by default, and you can switch the whole video to Devanagari or back at any time.