A company's history can effectively serve as proof of today's brand idea. The stories, the founders, the first products, all of it help to infuse today's brand with a sense of mission rooted in authenticity. Mercedes-Benz clearly knows this and has given us a slice from their own historical narrative that is timely, well-told and arguably proof of their brand idea, "The best or nothing."
Have a look:
Timely.
Did you know that today is National Women's Day? This film dropped two days ago and it's a wonderful and surprising celebration of the role Bertha Benz played in the history of the automobile back in 1888. Oh, sure, the film is dramatized a bit (more on that later), but the hero is determined, unwavering and unafraid to pave new roads. Literally.
The film didn't need National Women's Day in order to be perceived as relevant and timely. It's a surprising piece of Mercedes-Benz' history--at least I was unaware of this story--that Mrs. Benz rode this first automobile for 12 hours and 106 km. What incredible guts that took to do with just her small boys (or alone, as another similar but less dramatic film from Mercedes suggests), what confidence in the product, what hutzpah.
So the film didn't require it to be National Women's Day, but why not celebrate the role of women in the founding of your brand right now? Smart.
Well told.
How many historical films have you seen from other brands that play like voiced-over filmstrips? Old black and white still-shots fading in and out in wannabe "Ken Burns" style with a dramatic, baritone voice-over proudly describing what we're seeing. If this film followed suit, I could hear that voice open with, "Bertha Mercedes was no ordinary woman..."
But this film did not follow suit and that's why I love it. They didn't say that Bertha Mercedes was no ordinary woman, they showed it. It was like a mini-HBO-like movie with a story line, a hero, three acts (in four minutes), conflict and a crowd-pleasing resolution. The acting is excellent and believable, the pacing is gripping, the music carries it forward while at the same time nicely infusing emotion into key plot points, and we even have true character transformation happening. Not bad for a four minute film.
It's a story, well told. While Bertha is clearly the focus, the film wisely follows the little girl's transformation. To this girl, Bertha begins as a witch and ends as a hero. We can even pinpoint the moment that transformation happens--when the little girl looks at Bertha and nods subtly in the direction of the pharmacist.
My only nit with the film is the super, "She believed in herself." This film was so well done that this line was unnecessary and even disappointing to see. As they say in Hollywood, it was a little "on the nose." Would have been much better to leave it to the viewer to conclude after the first super, "She believed in more than a car." That's all the spot needed.
But that nit aside, I have to agree with one of the commenters below the YouTube posting of this film who said, "I want a movie with this story."
Proof of the Mercedes brand idea.
While this film does not end with, "The best or nothing," perhaps because it's a global film and that tag may not be global, I still think this film captures the attitude necessary to say something that bold. "The best or nothing" requires a commanding spirit, a can-do attitude, and an arrogant defiance for the many barriers thrown at you. To say, "The best or nothing," means you have to believe.
Bertha Benz believed. She believed in her husband, she believed in the product he created and she believed it would change the world. And, as a result, I believe that Mercedes-Benz truly believes in, "The best or nothing."
Well done.
