It's Britney Bitch

I feel it is imperative to immediately acknowledge that the music underlying this ad is a cheap knockoff of the Succession soundtrack, which does feel as though they’re inviting this sort of analysis. And who am I to refuse the call?

If you’ve not watched the ad, go do so. If you refuse, for whatever reason: the premise is that the drivers overhear engineers discussing a product that promises to be “self-driving, self-protecting, self-optimising, and self-healing” and become paranoid that they are being replaced with self-driving technology.

The first thing that strikes me about this ad is, right off the bat, Kimi is both the one who first realises the potential threat to both of their careers, and takes the active role in starting the conversation (via text message) with George. This doesn’t, upon first examination, seem terribly significant in and of itself; George is physically present in the room where the discussion about the technology is happening, while Kimi is listening in from another location. However, the framing is interesting.

Kimi, the first driver we see, is the focal point of all shots he’s in. He’s framed like a protagonist.

George, appearing after him, is portrayed among the gaggle of engineers, appearing as merely one cog in the Mercedes machine.

Now, it would be a massive stretch to try and glean anything substantial from these observations, as they’re all fairly unremarkable in and of themselves, easily handwaved as circumstantial; but they do become more interesting when taken alongside the rest of the video. 

The initial text message exchange between the drivers is as follows:

You hear that? 🫠 I did…I’ll check it out 🫡 Mate…they’re all-in 💀💀

In the conclusion of the “first act” of the ad, Kimi is shown receiving George’s text.

Once again, his framing comes across as that of a central character, as does the fact that the segment both starts and ends with solo shots of him. 

As for the next segment?

Kimi again! We jump immediately from Kimi, alone and contemplating George’s observations as they are conveyed via text, to Kimi physically training, distracted by the prospect of being replaced by self-driving tech.

We then cut to a stone-faced Kimi, standing before menagerie of microphones in a press gaggle, before he turns and storms out of frame.

And third, we get this silly shot of a behelmeted Kimi, desultorily twirling pasta in the Merc cafeteria.

Then, the focus turns to George:

We see him lowering his face down onto what I'm fairly certain is a massage chair (though one anon insists it's a sex chair, which is entirely possible and only strengthens my case), before the camera cuts back to Kimi, investigating (in Italian), what some of the unfamiliar terms used to describe the foreboding tech actually mean.

We then flash back to George, at home (or possibly in a hotel room), dozing in bed as text messages from Kimi pile up.

George? George. GEORGE! What about US? 😭😭😭

George doesn't say anything, or even text Kimi back; he just kinda shakes his head and meeps eyelashingly.

Now, you might be saying: "Gosh, 'What about US?' sure does sound awfully mercesty." And to that I say, true, but that's tangential to the main course.

What I find especially interesting about this segment is the contrast, specifically along the active/passive axis.

Despite Kimi's worry and neediness, he's still framed as a far more commanding and dynamic presence; he's training, he's representing the team to the press, he's there in the workplace eating among his colleges. As the end of the video will reveal, both drivers have been wallowing in paranoia, but Kimi is the only one shown taking the initiative to learn more about the technology.

George's framing, by contrast, is wholly passive; he sits in a chair waiting to receive a massage, he doses in bed while receiving text messages. He is no less concerned than Kimi, but seems unwilling or perhaps unable to bring himself to push back against what he fears may be his fate.

Now, you're probably thinking that what I'm describing sounds terribly un-Georgish. And I agree! But this isn't the Merc drivers as their authentic selves; this is the Merc drivers as the team wants their public personas to appear. So what, then, does that say about how they'd like to portray Kimi, versus how they'd prefer to portray George? I'll let you chew on that.

Finally, please take note of the cock shame/cock confidence poses in the final scene. I think that speaks for itself.

Oh, and a postscript: there's a little scene at the end wherein George laments that he wishes they (the drivers) were self-healing, like the technology allegedly is. Kimi, with a shit-eating grin, reminds George that he, unlike pushing-thirties George, still is young enough for that to basically be the truth.

This is the last shot of the video, by the way. It begins and ends on Kimi.