Mercedes-Benz’s recent print ad throws readers back to its very first patent

Mercedes-Benz celebrated 140 years in January 2026, and the automobile brand decided to commemorate this achievement by publishing a full-page ad in The Times of India recently. 

The headline read, "From the first patent onwards, every idea has left its mark."

The ad was a minimalist one with the names of all the patents that the company has ever issued aligned to form the Mercedes logo using the negative space.

At first glance, the text appears to be nothing out of the ordinary, but closer inspection reveals patent names such as:

• Benz Patent Motor Car: It refers to the patent granted to Karl Benz, the founder of Mercedes, in 1886. It is regarded as the ‘birth certificate’ of the automobile. Before this, carriages were pulled by horses, not propelled by internal combustion engines.
• Grandfather Clock Engine: Developed by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in 1885, this was a small, high-speed vertical engine. Its nickname comes from its upright shape. It was revolutionary because it was light and powerful enough to be fitted into a vehicle, unlike the massive, stationary industrial engines of the time.
• EQ Series & VISION EQXX: EQ is the sub-brand for all-electric Mercedes cars (like the EQS). The VISION EQXX is their "efficiency champion", a prototype that proved an EV could travel over 1,000 km on a single charge through effiecient aerodynamics and lightweight design.
• DRIVE PILOT (Level 3): A world-first. It allows the car to take legal responsibility for driving in specific conditions (like heavy traffic up to 95 km/h). Unlike other hands-on systems, the driver can actually look away from the road to check emails or even watch a movie. 

Highlighting the innovations spanning 140 years of the brand’s existence looks like a commentary on not just the brand’s automobile legacy but also its intellectual property that has shaped the industry as a whole.

While the ad is rooted in the traditional medium of newsprint for impact, the QR code at the bottom invites readers to "Scan to witness the journey," for relevance.