I know this is a year old but It is one more reason why I like Mercedes-Benz. I sent it to my daughters when I first saw it a year back. It is the message I have always tried to teach them. Stumbled on it again and wanted to share it. I hope other dads of little girls will share it with them.
Wow! Never saw this! Thanks for sharing. Must be dusty in here!
I don't have a little girl but that's a great video.
That car hit shelves this summer, I couldn't help but buy multiples.
I have 2 girls, 1 daughter in law, and a granddaughter. All of them have spent time with me building houses and under the hoods of cars.
Thank you for sharing that.
It prompted a very interesting holiday conversation in my house with my daughters (and my psychologist son).
My son reminded us to recognize that is an advertisement, not an experiment.
It made me aware of the power of media to influence. What if the video had been of NFL football coach Jen Welter? Would those girls have wanted to play with the football? If it was Dr. Mary Walker (only woman to receive the Medal of Honor), would they have played with the soldiers? How about if it was about Linda Fuller (Co-founder of Habitat for Humanity)? Would they have played with the carpentry tools? If it was Margarat E. Knight (engineer/ inventor)? Would they have played with the wrenches and mechanical tools?
The reverse is true too... If the video had been about Princess Diana, would it have been ok for them to want to play with the princess?
We need to give great examples our children can aspire to, and media is exceptionally good at accomplishing this. Even advertising media.
Thanks again!
rustybugkiller said:Must be dusty in here!
Here too - what the heck!
From her wiki page:
"Ewy Rosqvist stopped competing in 1967, after a career completely without accidents, crashes or broken cars."
So when I was taking the races cars to the local schools and the girls asked about women / girls racing I always told then to watch Michelle Motion on youtube. I'll add Ewy to the list, I knew about her but didn't know there was video of her driving.
Barf
I have a daughter (5) who lives cars & tools, worked on my challenge car and lives in grm and scca gear. She also loves Disney princesses and the color pink. I do not need a slick advertising campaign to manipulate her, that is my job.
This kind of pandering might play better with boomers or something, but I personally find it distasteful. She is already a strong personality and can decide for herself what she likes.
In reply to tb (minimally supportive) :
I applaud you for doing it right. For every one of your "daughters" there are hundreds of little girls out there that are not so lucky to have a parent like you.
Yes it is an advertisement but every now and then a company gets it right and it is my opinion that this is one of those times.
I like the thought in this campaign, but did Mercedes really have to go back to the 1960s to find a lady racer? Was Susie Wolff's appearance fee too high?
In reply to tb (minimally supportive) :
Perhaps this kind of media will reach other girls who don't have fathers that live cars and tools.
Ok, good points...
It just seems sexist and dated. We spend equal time on tools and princesses but it all came together when I let her pick pink for the last challenge car. I'm kinda surprised all dads aren't like that.
So cool.
I knew Ewy's story and actually have a few pictures I took of her Mercedes. I will post them tomorrow.
I've seen a commercial where a big tough tattooed guy is playing princess with his daughter... And she has him in the princess stuff! I never had kids, but I was thinking all dads should be a tough as that guy!!!
The problem with the power of advertising, is 90 (+)% of the time, they are promoting a WRONG thing 
dean1484 said:In reply to tb (minimally supportive) :
I applaud you for doing it right. For every one of your "daughters" there are hundreds of little girls out there that are not so lucky to have a parent like you.
And for every commercial like this, there are hundreds that play right into gender stereotypes. Or kids TV shows, or Disney movies...
tb (minimally supportive) said:Ok, good points...
It just seems sexist and dated. We spend equal time on tools and princesses but it all came together when I let her pick pink for the last challenge car. I'm kinda surprised all dads aren't like that.
I would argue that it may not be just dads that are like that. It is a parenting thing that can be propagated by moms and dads. We have come a long way so yes this may be a bit dated but it is by no means outdated.
In reply to dean1484 :
I'm sure it happens that parents and society enforce ridiculous gender stereotypes. Perhaps im not exposed to it enough to see it still going on.
Either way, I think we can all agree that she is awesome. Still feels a little bit like they are trying to exploit her due to the fact that she happens to have a vagina rather than just honoring a truly excellent driver.
So if I can debunk the new exploitation problem you now have are you going to come up with another reason to make something that is good in to a bad thing? Creepers what is your problem with all this? A mega company actually trying to do something good? Do you just hate Mercedes? You don't like feel good stories?
This is why I am considering taking a vacation from this place. People seem to always be working extra hard to find a problem or the negative in everything.
Nah, it isn't a new problem and you can't debunk my feelings. If it makes you feel good that is fine, it strikes a different chord with me and doesn't make me feel good.
All they are trying to do is sell cars. I find this technique to ring false and feel creepy.
In reply to dean1484 :
This is tb. It's like the story of the scorpion that wanted to get across the river. He asked the frog if he could ride on his back. The frog said no you will sting me. The scorpion replied back of course I won't because if I do so both of us will die. So the frog allowed the scorpion to climb on his back and started swimming across the river. Half way across the scorpion stung the frog. The frog cried out but why now both of us will die. The scorpion replied back because it is my nature.
In reply to dean1484 :
Hope you don't go. We need you here. I am a glass is full kind of guy also. I enjoyed the video and I learned something........I had never heard of Ewy Rosqvist before. It also reminded me that I need to get my older Mercedes Benz back on the road. Hope I can still find the matchbox model. Thanks for posting.
I'd love to hear how some of the women on this site who love cars feel about advertising like this. It would be much better than listening to a bunch of chest thumping cro-magnons arguing with each other "No, THIS is how we should treat women!"
Let's keep it between the lines, guys.
Of the 8 members of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, 2 of them are women.
I'm glad to see that. I look forward to them doing better.
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