Cars24’s Boat Stunt On Flooded Gurugram Road Sparks Debate And Clarification

Used-car platform Cars24 has become the centre of a viral monsoon story after it placed a branded blue boat on a waterlogged road in Gurugram, turning a marketing stunt into a wider conversation about urban flooding and infrastructure. The activation, executed during heavy rains, was intended as a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the city’s recurring drainage failures, but quickly took on a life of its own as stranded commuters began using the boat to cross the flooded stretch.

Cars24’s Head of Brand and Communications, Prachi Sharma, shared the episode on LinkedIn, writing that the company had “put a Cars24 boat in the water as a joke about the rain” and that “the flooding has been arriving for years, and has never cost anyone anything.” Her post mentioned a ₹50,000 challan and showed images of people rowing the branded boat through knee-deep water, with the line: “A joke stops being funny the moment it becomes a commute.”

The story triggered intense debate on social media, with some praising the bold creative and others questioning the safety and appropriateness of using a public road for a brand activation during a weather emergency. Gurugram traffic authorities later clarified that no traffic challan had been issued in connection with the incident, and that the ₹50,000 figure referred to the cost of the marketing activation, not a fine.

Cars24 subsequently issued a statement acknowledging that placing a boat on a public road was unsafe and irresponsible, and apologised to the Gurugram administration, police and other authorities for the confusion created by the initial post. The company said the activity was never meant to encourage such behaviour and that the boat had been removed, while the larger conversation around Gurugram’s monsoon waterlogging continued to dominate local discourse.