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Girl-Only Mattel Mercedes-Benz 220SE to Be Gifted to First Graders in the U.S.

The newest die-cast model car from Mattel is a replica of the Mercedes-Benz 220SE; it will hit stores in the U.S. next year and it will be available for all to buy, but until then only young girls will be able to hold one in their hands.
Mattel Mercedes-Benz 220SE 1 photo
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
This is what Mercedes-Benz promised this week: thousands of girls across the nation will get a free toy car, as a way “to inspire the next generation of female trailblazers” and one to “challenge gender stereotypes.”

This whole idea started with a video posted by Mercedes last week. In an experiment it conducted and captured on film, the company asked first grader girls to pick a toy they wanted to play with from a selection of such objects. Predictably, most of the kids involved chose girly stuff, avoiding to put their hands on cars because “this is a boy’s thing.”

For a company whose life started largely because of a woman, that revelation did not sit well. So Mercedes decided to show the kids, on a tablet, recordings of the 1962 Argentinian Grand Prix when female Swedish racing driver Ewy Rosqvist was crowned champion behind the wheel of a 220SE.

Of course, after seeing the images, most of the kids went back to their table and chose the toy car instead, proving in Mercedes’ view that a strong positive message about one’s gender could offset stereotypes.

“Through Ewy’s story, we saw an opportunity to inspire young girls to ‘play outside the box’ and imagine all the different opportunities open to them without the restrictions of traditional stereotypes,” said in a statement Mercedes marketing manager Mark Aikman.

“This led us to collaborate with Matchbox to create a tangible reminder for girls that there are no restrictions on their tomorrow.”

The carmaker did not say what criteria it will choose to select who gets the toys.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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