Motoring, metal, masculinity. The automobile industry, or as it’s more recently termed, the mobility industry, is dominated by men. It always has been. To this day, women are seen as mere passengers in a gender unequal industry. Changes are happening, Saudi Arabia is one example, but there is still a long way to go.

If you’re going to change the status quo within the motor industry, the best place to start is in the home of motoring, Germany, with one of the biggest and most powerful brands, Mercedes-Benz. Celebrating Bertha Benz, whose story was a surprise, even in her home country, sent a positive message about strong female visionaries, which resonated globally

By telling the story of Bertha Benz and of the first long-distance journey in an automobile, Mercedes-Benz wanted to celebrate the visionary woman of its past - and inspire many more to be as bold and fearless in the future. The film was launched on International Women’s Day.

To have a positive impact on more than just Mercedes-Benz, but on the motoring industry and the world at large, we chose to tell a story that championed a visionary. A true story that was shocking in its rejection of gender stereotypes.

The campaign firstly targeted professional women. Women for whom Mercedes Benz was irrelevant. We needed these women to reappraise the brand. These women are ambitious and strong-willed, doers who want to achieve. Our second audience was a younger female audience. Not car buyers, but younger women, whom we could inspire to go on and challenge expectations and gender norms.

Mercedes-Benz had been marketed as a symbol of male prestige for so long, we had a tough job to do. Any sniff of inauthenticity would have made the film a failure. We delved into the story of Bertha Benz, picking up all the small details and historical facts of the first cross-country journey in an automobile. Showing not only our target audiences, but the world, that we were serious about championing and supporting visionary women

Shot like a classic Western with modern stylization, the short film conveys the fear and confusion of the people who witnessed Bertha’s incredible journey, and dramatizes one of her stops along the way. Mechanics didn’t exist, so she went to the pharmacy to find fuel, used her hat pin to clear fuel lines, and her garter for insulation. Her audacity proved to all nay-sayers that the automobile could be the future of mobility – and shaped the industry until today.

- Over 7 mio views in the first few days;

- 16,4 mio impressions on Facebook and YouTube alone

- Very high watch time & completion rate across channels, with 10.134.802min watch time on youtube

- Relevant PR outcome & extremely positive sentiment online