In an announcement reported on September 17, 2026, Mercedes-Benz carried out the India leg of "140 Years. 140 Places.," a global expedition marking its 140th anniversary. As part of a journey covering 6 continents and 140 locations across a total of 60,000 kilometers with three S-Class cars, various parts of India served as the stage for a brand experience. The campaign was produced by BBDO India. This method of translating a global anniversary campaign into the character of each country offers Japanese companies material for gauging experiential marketing design when thinking about how to put down roots for their own brand in India.
According to reports, Mercedes-Benz's "140 Years. 140 Places." travels to 140 destinations across 6 continents, covering a total distance of 60,000 kilometers. The journey is carried by three S-Class cars named Bertha, Carl, and Gottlieb, names drawn from figures tied to automotive history. In the India leg, Gottlieb traces a route running the length of the north, from New Delhi through Amritsar, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh (including Umling La), Lucknow, Varanasi, and Patna, on to Bhutan, and back to Delhi. Bertha and Carl travel the south and west, from Hampi to Bengaluru, Goa, and Mumbai. The anniversary story is told against the backdrop of India's diverse terrain and cities.
A 140-year milestone is, by nature, a global story that tends to be told around the home market of Germany. The backbone of this expedition is translating that story onto the actual roads and landscapes of locations around the world. In India, the route runs through terrain and cultures as different as the Himalayan highlands of Ladakh, the holy city of Varanasi, the ruins of Hampi, and the commercial hub of Mumbai, layering the brand's history over local scenery. In Mumbai, filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Kiara Advani each appeared in separate films; Advani reportedly called Bertha her "new best friend" and toured the architecture and streets of old Bombay. By weaving local stories and people into the campaign, it pulls the anniversary project from being "someone else's country's commemoration" into becoming "part of India's own scenery."
The aim of this India leg comes through clearly in comments from BBDO India, which produced the campaign. Chairman and CCO Josy Paul said, "We didn't want India to be just one destination on a 140-year global journey. We wanted it to feel like a homecoming." Mercedes-Benz India MD and CEO Santosh Iyer likewise said, "the long-awaited '140 Years. 140 Places.' world tour is coming to India." When a global campaign is distributed to each country, treating it as just one line on a schedule makes it feel like someone else's affair to local consumers. Mercedes split the route into a north-south run and a south-west run, driving from the highlands to holy sites, ruins, and a commercial hub, making India not a waypoint but one of the leading characters. Filling the anniversary campaign with local scenery and people is the crux of this effort.
This campaign was reported by advertising trade outlet afaqs as an announcement from the brand side, and at the time of the article no third-party assessment or response figures had been presented. What can be said with confidence is the intent and itinerary described by Mercedes-Benz India and BBDO India. Their comments reveal an approach that, when distributing a global anniversary story to each country, weaves in that country's distinctive terrain, culture, and people to make it look like "our own story." It also shows a luxury car brand trying to convey continuity not through product specs, but through its connection to place and scenery.
Mercedes's expedition raises two points for Japanese companies with global brand equity building experiential campaigns in India. First, translate a global anniversary or campaign from the home country into local terrain, culture, and people, pulling it from "someone else's commemoration" into "this country's story." Second, if you cast a celebrity, use them not as a mere face but in a role that speaks to their connection with the place. For campaigns built around a celebrity, one8's case — turning cricketer Virat Kohli's record into pricing — offers a useful reference for how casting can be made distinctive (How Kohli turned 9,230 runs into 9,230 rupees with a pricing move) McDonald's World Cup tie-in is a textbook example of weaving local scenery and culture into a pitch (McDonald's India's World Cup tie-in, a textbook example of localized marketing).
Building presence in India requires more than product performance — it comes down to how a company tells a story rooted in the local land. Among Japanese automakers, there is a case of Suzuki adopting cow-dung-derived biogas, an indigenous resource, as fuel, signaling a stance rooted in the local land (Cow dung becomes fuel for Suzuki: winning in India with local resources) Mercedes's expedition campaign, too, connects to this theme of "building a local story" by turning the very land it drives through into material for its narrative.
Mercedes's "140 Years. 140 Places." India leg offers one example of how to root a global anniversary campaign in a local market. As part of a journey covering 6 continents and 60,000 kilometers, three S-Class cars drove across India from the highlands to holy sites, ruins, and a commercial hub, filling the story with celebrities and their connection to place. The first move available to Japanese companies with global brand equity is, before bringing a home-market campaign over unchanged, to work out which of India's terrain, culture, or people it could be tied to in order to translate it into "our own story," and to build that into the design of the itinerary and experience. Whether the story is filled with local scenery is what decides whether it ends up a mere waypoint or becomes a lead character.
RECENT
2026.09.24Bridgestone India’s 30th-anniversary film builds on the founder’s motto2026.09.24Flipkart’s move: putting the two meanings of "BBD" on Kolkata buses2026.09.24Veteran fertilizer maker KICL enters beverages with coconut water, starting in three South Indian states2026.09.24Pinit delivers saris in under 45 minutes, setting up a mirror and lighting at the customer’s home to choose fromCONTACT
Considering entering the Indian market?
Building on the developments on the ground covered in this article, we will suggest an approach that fits your products.
Book a free consultation →SOJAPAN
We support Japanese companies entering India, from market research through local partner development, test sales, and import.