Women have made endless scientific discoveries, won athletic competitions, created groundbreaking works of art and more. Yet, gender discrimination remains a major hurdle for many, making International Women’s Day just as vital in 2023 as it was in its founding year, 1911.
With the need for more rapid change at its heart, Mercedes-Benz has teamed with its lead agency Antoni and production company Smuggler for its newest video, Be One of Many. This 67-second short is directed by Smuggler’s Fiona Jane Burgess, recently known for her work on the 20th-anniversary video for Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.”
The video shows a young girl sitting down in a chair and being asked to look into a camera. Photos and videos of women who have changed history flash across the screen, with the narration noting that “This is what it looks like to be exceptional.” From scientists to athletes and beyond, many of history’s game-changers are represented.
Next, the narration asks, “but what if women didn’t have to be exceptional? What if they didn’t have to be the first, the best, or the only woman?” It goes on to make the case that women shouldn’t experience constant pressure to be the best, but should be allowed to work on a team, to be one among many and only then will they be competing as equals.
“With this campaign I was interested in how we could work with Mercedes, as a brand that represents a male dominated industry, to address these issues surrounding gender bias towards young people in a way that felt honest but also empowering,” Burgess continued.
This release comes after the 12-year-old Luna Fluxa became the youngest and only girl to be accepted onto the Mercedes F1 Junior Team in 2022.
CREDITS
Client: Mercedes Benz @mercedesbenz
Agency: Antoni_ @antoniberlin
Partner and managing executive director for Mercedes-Benz: Marcell Francke @crazyfast_
Head of production: Marjorie Jorrot @mademoisellejorrot
Copywriter: Leonie Hallet @team.leolaura
Art director: Laura Hess @team.leolaura
Managing director: Christina Müller
Senior account manager: Julian Holland-Moritz @__charybdis__
Junior account manager: Sarah Achatz @sarah_achatz
Agency producer: Meike Kornrumpf @meikometer
Production company: SMUGGLER @smugglersite and TEMPOMEDIA @tempomedia.de
Director: Fiona Jane Burgess @fionajburgessss
Cinematography: Andreas Bjørseth @andreasbjorseth
Tempomedia executive producer: Vera Portz @veraportz
Tempomedia executive producer: Timm Reinfarth @producerberlin
Smuggler executive producer: Tom Knight @tomknight0
Producer: Emely Sudhaus @emely.ashley
Production manager: Marc Drobny @dr.obny
Producer assistant: Eva Kuhar @evakuhar
Producer assistant: Artemis Krull @artemis_krull
Location manager: Ben Ramson
1st AD: Gregor Budde-Petrusch @gregorbuddepetrusch
2nd AD: Sulaika Bylica
Steadicam: Yoshua Berkowitz
1st AC: Ola Austad
2nd AC: Simon Wandelt
VTR: Frank Hellwig @buntundinfarbe101
Key grip: Hannes Tröger
Gaffer: Benjamin Erdenberger @ben.erdenberger
Production designer: Lilo Klinkenberg & Léonie Britz @studiolilo_ @studiobritz
Styling: Julia Quante @juliaquante
Make up artist: Paloma Brytscha @thisis_paloma
Hairstylist: Rabea Richwien @rabearoehll
Social media: Compressed @compressed.studio
Photography: Janine Sametzky @janinesametzky
Casting: Kyra Sophie @kyrasophie
Casting: Hannah Ashby Ward @lanecasting
Extras: Streets Agentur @streets.agentur
Grading: Julian Alary @julienalary_colour
Editing: Nik Kohler @nik.kohler_
Sound Design/Music GER: Kraatz Studios @kraatzstudios
Sound Design/Music UK: Soundtree Music @soundtreemusic
Film lab: Studio L’Equipe
Research team: lilian tietjen @lil_lil_lil_lil, lilli seidel @lilliluvsya & daniela reichelt @dd3er
Acting: Reema Juffali @reemajuffali
Acting: Johanna Mercia Weiß @mercia_insta
Acting: Adi Ofek @adi.ofek_
Acting: Nandi Bushell @nandi_bushell
Acting: Tallulah Leggett
Acting: Amaya Christa
Acting: Alicia Pope
Acting: Josephin Kuhn
Acting: Damir Mahomedov
Acting: Theodor Sostaric @sostarictheodor
Acting: Lion Dzhong @lion_dzhong
Acting: Renzo Moyse @renzo__moyse
Acting: Aliyah Pankow @aliyyyyyah
