McDowell’s Soda brings Tanmay Bhat, Kullu, Aishwarya Mohanraj, Anuj Gupta together for ‘Yaari Jam’

New Delhi: House of McDowell’s Soda has launched a Holi-themed campaign titled ‘Yaari Jam: Holi on Wheels’, presenting a festival celebration built around friendship and shared experiences.

The activation featured creators and comedians Tanmay Bhat, Aaditya Kulshreshtha (aka Kullu), Aishwarya Mohanraj and Anuj Gupta. The concept involved a Holi-themed activity in which high-performance cars were used during a colour-filled event staged in an arena setting.

According to the organisers, the activation formed part of the brand’s broader “Firsts with Friends” platform, which focuses on experiences shared among friends. During the event, cars performed drifting manoeuvres that triggered colour bursts and paint explosions, creating a visually driven celebration captured on cameras placed inside the vehicles.

The campaign was conceptualised by Publicis Groupe India’s Team Spirit, with creative involvement from Saatchi & Saatchi India.

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Commenting on the initiative, Aanandita Datta, vice president marketing and category head at Diageo India, said, “At House of McDowell’s Soda, we see friendship not just as an emotion, but as a cultural force that shapes how young India lives life. Building on our ‘Firsts with Friends’ philosophy launched last year, Yaari Jam: Holi on Wheels brings that spirit to life in a new way. It reimagines a deeply rooted festival through a more contemporary lens. 

We wanted to move beyond celebration as ritual and create celebration as a shared experience - something immersive and unforgettable. Our ambition is to build House of McDowell’s Soda into a brand that doesn’t just participate in culture, but actively shapes it by curating elevated, first-of-its-kind moments that friends can truly call their own.”

Speaking about the experience, Aaditya Kulshreshtha said, “I’ve played Holi my whole life - galli wali, terrace wali, all of it. But this? This was unreal. The second the cars started drifting and colour just exploded everywhere, it felt like I was in an actual movie action sequence… except with my closest yaars roasting me in the background. The banter was non-stop, the chaos was beautiful and doing something this cool together made it genuinely special. It wasn’t just another Holi - it was our first time doing Holi like this.”

Kartik Smetacek, chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi India, added, “This is the second big campaign under our new platform idea for McDowell’s, Firsts With Friends. Holi is the perfect occasion for friends to come together and unleash some madness. This high-octane reimagining of a Holi party has just the right mix of surprise and spectacle.”

The campaign film captures the event and highlights moments from the Holi-themed activity featuring the participants.