Cars24 Slapped With ₹50,000 Challan Over Gurugram Boat Stunt
Cars24 faces a ₹50,000 challan after deploying a branded boat on a flooded Gurugram road as a monsoon marketing stunt.
SociapaHQ
Pre-owned car platform Cars24 was allegedly fined ₹50,000 by traffic authorities in Gurugram after deploying a branded boat on a waterlogged road as part of a monsoon-focused publicity stunt.
Prachi Sharma, Head of Brand, Creative and Communication at Cars24, revealed the development in a LinkedIn post, saying the company had launched a blue, Cars24-branded rowboat on a submerged Gurgaon street as a humorous commentary on the city's recurring waterlogging problem.
What began as a marketing activation, however, quickly took on a more practical role as stranded pedestrians and office-goers began using the boat to navigate the flooded road.
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Check out the video here:
From Marketing Stunt To Public Service:
Sharma said the situation changed when people started using the boat to get home, turning the campaign into an unexpected mode of transport.
“A joke stops being funny the moment it becomes a commute,” she wrote, highlighting how severe flooding had made rowing one of the fastest ways for some people to cross the affected stretch.
Sharma also said Cars24 had paid for the boat and would pay the challan again if required to deploy it during further flooding, adding that the company hoped the episode would draw attention to the city's waterlogging problem.
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The campaign was intended to use humour to comment on a recurring civic issue, but the response from stranded commuters gave the activation an unexpected dimension.
Cars24's stunt comes amid recurring concerns over monsoon waterlogging in Gurugram, where flooded roads and drainage issues frequently disrupt daily commutes.
