Coca-Cola India has relaunched ThunderWheels, Thums Up’s flagship biking platform, fronting the campaign’s third edition with cricketer Jasprit Bumrah to deepen the brand’s connection with India’s growing biking culture. The campaign turns specially marked Thums Up packs into an entry point for consumers to win biking rewards, including a ThunderWheels motorcycle through a lucky draw.
Led by Sumeli Chatterjee, Category Head for Sparkling Flavours at Coca-Cola India and South-West Asia, the ThunderWheels 3.0 campaign centres on an action-packed brand film featuring Bumrah that brings alive what the brand calls the “toofani” (stormy) world of biking. Consumers can scan specially marked packs to unlock digital experiences and enter the prize draw, while the brand builds parallel engagement across social platforms by inviting biking enthusiasts to share their own riding stories.
Why Is Thums Up Doubling Down on Biking Culture Marketing?
Thums Up has long positioned itself around a bold, adventurous brand identity, and biking culture offers a natural extension of that positioning beyond a traditional beverage campaign. By tying the promotion directly to pack-scan mechanics and a tangible prize — a motorcycle — the brand converts a passive advertising campaign into an active consumer engagement funnel, driving both purchase and digital interaction at the point of sale. This is the third year of ThunderWheels, indicating the platform has become a recurring seasonal marketing property for the brand rather than a one-off activation.
What Does This Mean for India’s FMCG Marketing Playbook?
The campaign reflects a broader shift in Indian FMCG marketing toward celebrity-fronted, experience-led platforms that combine mass-media brand films with gamified, pack-based consumer participation. Cricket remains the most reliable celebrity-endorsement lever for mass-market brands in India, and Bumrah’s association adds credibility to Thums Up’s youth-oriented, adventure-driven brand narrative. For competing beverage brands, ThunderWheels 3.0 sets a benchmark for how to fuse sports celebrity marketing with community-building around a lifestyle passion point like biking.
Industry Reaction and Expert Commentary
Sumeli Chatterjee said Thums Up’s “signature strong taste and high fizz represent a bold, adventurous spirit,” adding that biking is “a natural expression of the Toofani spirit that drives everything we do,” and that ThunderWheels 3.0 aims to bring riders “closer to unforgettable experiences, stronger communities, and the thrill of the riding.” Marketing observers have noted that recurring, multi-year brand platforms like ThunderWheels tend to build stronger long-term brand equity than one-off celebrity campaigns.
What Happens Next?
The campaign will continue to build momentum through digital and social platforms over the coming weeks, encouraging user-generated content from biking enthusiasts nationwide. Watch for on-ground activations and community events tied to the campaign as Thums Up seeks to convert digital engagement into real-world biking meetups and brand affinity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Thums Up’s ThunderWheels campaign?
ThunderWheels is Thums Up’s flagship biking-culture marketing platform, now in its third year, that combines a celebrity-fronted brand film with pack-scan mechanics offering consumers a chance to win biking rewards.
Who is fronting the ThunderWheels 3.0 campaign?
Cricketer Jasprit Bumrah is the face of ThunderWheels 3.0, appearing in the campaign’s brand film celebrating India’s biking culture.
How can consumers participate in the ThunderWheels campaign?
Consumers can scan specially marked Thums Up packs to enter the ThunderWheels experience and stand a chance to win biking rewards, including a motorcycle through a lucky draw.
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