Mahindra Racing Gets London Moving to Power Its Race Car with Dance

As Mahindra Racing geared up to compete at the London e-Prix, the team created a unique, sustainable platform for London's citizens to power up the team's race car while shaking a leg and having fun. As an extension of its commitment to sustainability, Mahindra Racing commissioned a state-of-the-art stage at Potters Field Park, London which would harness renewable energy created by people dancing on it to fuel the Mahindra e-race car. Mahindra Racing collaborated with BBH India (part of Publicis Groupe India) to bring this initiative to life.

Commenting on the initiative, Asha Kharga, chief customer and brand officer, Mahindra & Mahindra, said: “Mahindra Racing is India’s only OEM to participate in a truly global, sustainable motorsport - The Formula E World Championship. At the heart of Mahindra Racing is technology that combines with sustainability to make it the greenest team in motor sport. The #DanceForGood campaign is to create salience around Mahindra Racing and build engagement around sustainability by leveraging popular culture that makes it exciting and fun.”

Dutch firm Energy Floors designed a smart, interactive stage that instantly converted the kinetic energy generated through people's dance moves into electricity. This electricity was then transmitted through cables to boost Mahindra electric racing car's battery. The initiative made renewable energy generation visible, giving people a chance to make a positive impact collectively.

British choreographer Katie Priest kickstarted the dance on the electronic mix of iconic Bollywood song 'Chaiyya Chaiyya', rallying passers-bys to join in. The stage set up in Potters Field Park to the backdrop of the historic London Tower Bridge was a crowd puller hosting thousands of locals and tourists throughout the day.

Commenting on this initiative, Russell Barrett, CCO & CEO, BBH India, said: "Formula E is is the racing sport of the future and Mahindra Racing has been at the forefront of the sport since 2014. Our task is always to generate interest in the various e-prix, support for team Mahindra and the sport itself. This idea weaves technology, culture, sustainability and the excitement of the London E Prix into a modern, famous piece of activation and content. We will continuously seek newer, dynamic ways of drawing more and more people to this sport and more and more fans to rally under the Mahindra Racing banner."

The campaign video has crossed 10mn views on YouTube, 2mn+ views on Facebook & Instagram and 1mn+ views on Twitter. Malaika Arora (on whom the song was originally picturized) and Mahindra Group Chairman – Anand Mahindra have shared this on their social channels. Farah Khan Kundra, the original choreographer can be noted making friendly banter with Malaika in the comments section. Malaika has also kicked off the #DanceForGood Challenge on Instagram. The campaign video is currently also gaining momentum on Whatsapp and is ubiquitously shared across family and other groups.