69th BAMBI Awards in Berlin: Mercedes-Benz #LocalHero campaign winner honoured

Stuttgart/Berlin. The BAMBI Awards, Germany's most famous media awards, were yesterday staged for the 69th time at the Berlin Stage Theater on Potsdam Square. Prominent guests chauffeured to the red carpet in Mercedes-Benz saloons included Claudia Schiffer, Diane Kruger, Fatih Akin, Hugh Jackman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ai Weiwei, Moritz Bleibtreu, Die Lochis, Stefanie Giesinger, Felix Jaehn, Palina Rojinski, Sarah Brandner, Franziska Knuppe and many more. Mercedes-Benz's involvement at the exclusive evening gala this year was much influenced by the blockbuster movie JUSTICE LEAGUE, which celebrated its German cinema premiere yesterday. The film features several Mercedes-Benz vehicles in spectacular roles. Two of the original vehicles from the film were positioned as eye-catchers at the BAMBI Awards: the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo and the new E-Class Cabriolet. Marcel Lossie was welcomed in Berlin as the everyday hero representing all participants in the #LocalHero campaign. He pulled up to red carpet together with the YouTube stars and Mercedes-Benz ambassadors 'The Lochies' (Heiko and Roman Lochmann). The campaign initiated by Mercedes-Benz honours people who show great dedication in advocating the well-being of other people.

In the run-up to the BAMBI Awards, Mercedes-Benz supported the TRIBUTE TO BAMBI charity event in aid of children in need in Germany. The brand put a 'TRIBUTE TO BAMBI' 'JUSTICE LEAGUE' special edition of the Bobby-Benz limited to 1000 models up for sale. All of the sales proceeds will go to the TRIBUTE TO BAMBI foundation, which helps children in need.

Mercedes-Benz #LocalHero campaign

To thank the many participants in the #LocalHero campaign, Mercedes-Benz and Hubert Burda Media invited Marcel Lossie, Honorary Chair and Founder of the FRUCHTALARM project, to represent all the local heroes at the 2017 BAMBI Awards. FRUCHTALARM (Fruit Alarm) was founded in 2010 against the background of a personal concern - initially to encourage children suffering from cancer in the oncology department at the Bielefeld-Bethel children's hospital to keep up their vital fluid intake by mixing non-alcoholic fruit cocktails. Lossie, his five-strong project team and the 178 'Fruchties' (Fruities), as the volunteer helpers are called, are now represented at 21 children's hospitals Germany-wide, where they offer the children a welcome time-out from their daily routine. The long-term aim is to offer FRUCHTALARM in each of the over 50 children's cancer hospitals in Germany.

This year Mercedes-Benz got involved with its own interactive campaign. Under the hashtag #LocalHero, Mercedes-Benz called on dedicated people from Germany to apply with a photo and a brief statement or to nominate a socially active person as their #LocalHero. The aim was to highlight the importance of becoming involved in social issues and performing voluntary work in the field of children's and young people's welfare and to boost appreciation of the commitment shown by local heroes in Germany.

Mercedes-Benz has been an exclusive Presenting Partner at the event since 2000. Mercedes-Benz supported this year's BAMBI Awards by providing an exclusive chauffeur service in V‑Class people carriers and S‑Class Saloons sporting a JUSTICE LEAGUE look. There were also five Crazy-Color G‑Class models available for the guests. Mercedes-Benz made one of the people who took part in the BAMBI public vote the lucky owner of a new car. To mark its appearance in JUSTICE LEAGUE, the prize was an E 200 Cabriolet AMG Line (combined fuel consumption: 6.2 l/100 km; combined CO emissions: 142 g/km).