Taking to social media, Cars24 Head of Brand Prachi Sharma recalled the entire story. The incident happened last week: “Rs 50,000. That is what it cost us to break the law in Gurgaon last week. The crime: a boat. The location: a road. The road: a river. We put a Cars24 boat in the water as a joke about the rain. The challan arrived in seconds.”
Sharma then stated that Gurugram has been witnessing such flooding for years, which recently only got worse. She then took a dig at the city’s condition as she stated that people using a boat to commute is no longer a “joke”, as it has now turned into a reality.
“The flooding has been arriving for years, and has never cost anyone anything. Then it got worse. People started getting into getting home because rowing was the fastest way across. A joke stops being funny the moment it becomes a commute,” the post continued.
The Cars24 Head of Brand further stated that despite the challan, the company is in no mood to take away the boats from serving people: “We have paid for the boat. We will pay the challan again (if we are required to take the boat out this week as well, to help people apparently). Still waiting for someone to be billed for the water and sincerely hoping this does grab the right eyeballs.”
The post went viral, drawing many reactions. Times Now could not confirm the details of the post.
Check out the viral post:
The post was shared on LinkedIn, by the handle ‘Prachi Sharma’. The post was shared a day ago and pulled over almost 2K views from people.
Internet’s reactions:
“If the challan is not fictional, you should post that too. Under what section you've received a challan for a boat not a MV . If not posted , everyone will assume it's fictional,” a user said. “And they don’t react this fast to actual crimes and traffic violations," added another.
“I'm more surprised there's a law about using boats on roads that become rivers. What did the chalan say?” asked the next person. “When a joke starts solving a real problem, it says more about the infrastructure than the campaign itself,” commented the next person.
This situation involves a viral guerilla marketing stunt that sparked widespread discussion online regarding city infrastructure.
Key Details of the Incident
The Marketing Stunt: During heavy monsoon waterlogging in Gurugram, Cars24 deployed a blue, company-branded inflatable boat onto flooded streets. The initiative was intended as a sarcastic joke highlighting the city's severe drainage problems.
Turn into Genuine Transport: According to Prachi Sharma (Head of Brand & Communications at Cars24), what began as a satirical campaign quickly turned functional: stranded commuters actually began boarding the boat to cross flooded roads to reach home.
The ₹50,000 Fine Claim: Sharma posted on LinkedIn claiming that authorities reacted immediately to the stunt:
"₹50,000. That is what it cost us to break the law in Gurgaon last week. The crime: a boat. The location: a road. The road: a river. We put a Cars24 boat in the water as a joke about the rain. The challan arrived in seconds. The flooding has been ar
riving for years, and has never cost anyone anything." Police Response: While the post went viral, Gurugram Traffic Police officials (including ACP Traffic Satyapal Yadav) clarified to media outlets that they had not issued any such official challan or received a formal complaint regarding the incident.
Public & Social Media Reaction
Infrastructure Critique: Users highlighted the irony that a branded joke briefly ended up serving as functional public transportation due to poor urban infrastructure and drainage management.
Guerrilla Marketing Value: Marketers noted that even if a ₹50,000 fine were paid, the campaign delivered high Return on Investment (ROI) in brand awareness and organic social media reach.
Safety Concerns: Others pointed out that operating an unauthorized boat without safety gear (like life jackets) on waterlogged public roads posed genuine safety hazards.
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