What if we lived in a world where it was even more normal than it is today for women to pursue supposedly “male careers”?
A world where gender is no longer an issue, because being a woman in certain areas is no longer the exception. That is the theme of the Mercedes-Benz campaign film for International Women’s Day 2023. Because despite widespread progress in recent decades on the subject of equal opportunity, the path must be consistently pursued. To raise awareness, the film focuses on three female protagonists who have close ties to the company. The brand with the iconic star logo is actively supporting them in achieving their goals and dreams.
“With the digital marketing campaign for International Women’s Day, we are stepping up our communications on the principles of our company and around such initiatives as She’s Mercedes. We are again using our social media reach to actively promote a world where diversity and equal opportunity matter. Because it is only when people respect and value one another that a company – and a society – can be successful,” said Bettina Fetzer, VP, Communications & Marketing Mercedes-Benz AG
Sabine Kohleisen, member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, responsible for the Human Resources Division & Director of Labour Relations added: “Mercedes-Benz has been promoting and advancing equal opportunities and an integrative corporate culture for many years. We are convinced that our ambitious business objectives can become reality only with the best talents in diverse teams. To make this happen, we want to have even more qualified women in senior management positions – and want to inspire and attract even more talented women to careers in technical professions.”
In 2006, Mercedes-Benz was among the first German corporations to set itself a voluntary goal to increase the share of women in senior management positions to 20 percent by the end of 2020. This share is currently at almost 25 percent. With women still underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) degree programmes and related occupations, the advancement of women remains an important and challenging focus topic.
As a next step, Mercedes-Benz aims to have 30 percent women in senior management by 2030. The Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG is almost 40 percent female, with three women among the eight members.
At the centre of the emotional campaign film is Reema Juffali, Saudi Arabia’s first female racing driver, who is competing in the GT World Challenge at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG GT3. Reema Juffali was born in Jeddah in 1992. She is the first female racing driver from Saudi Arabia. She took an interest in sports and cars as a child and during her college years in the USA became a fan of motor sports and Formula 1.
After earning a degree in international affairs, she got her driving licence in the USA in 2010, and treated herself to a three-day training course in a racing car – an exhilarating experience that made a lasting impression. When Saudi Arabia lifted its long-standing ban on women driving in 2017, Reema Juffali obtained her racing licence. She competed in her first race for Saudi Arabia in the F4 British Championship in 2019.
In the same year, she became the first Saudi woman to race in an international race in her home country. Reema Juffali established her own team – Theeba Motorsport – in 2022, and has set up a series of internships and training programmes to offer greater access to motor sports for young Saudi Arabian women. The BBC selected her as one of the world’s most inspiring and influential women in 2022.
The 60-second film takes place in a school: a place that tells the story of multiple generations of heroes of both sexes – and of gender stereotypes. The message: that it is time to drop the stereotypes and start taking women’s successes for granted – without putting their gender in the foreground.
The campaign’s digital communications will be launched today – International Women’s Day – and communicated to the core markets of Mercedes-Benz worldwide. It is comprised of assets of 60, 30, 15 and 6 seconds as well as eye-catching social media posts.
