The first work by Droga5 London since the agency won the account last year promotes Ancestry’s DNA brand and is based on the genealogy company’s data showing that the average British person has 60% DNA from somewhere in Europe.
The ad opens on a French man reading about Brexit in a newspaper. He turns to camera and says that Europe has a message for Britain before it leaves the European Union.
It then cuts to locations around the continent including Germany, Poland, Sweden and Italy. Europeans from an Italian grandmother to Irish rugby players and a German butcher serenade British people with Rick Astley’s 1987 hit song Together Forever.
The spot ends on the tagline, "We may be leaving Europe, but Europe will never leave us."
"Our new campaign rises above the divisiveness of Brexit to celebrate the enduring cultural and ancestral links that millions of Britons have with Europe," said Russell James, senior manager of UK marketing at Ancestry DNA. "At Ancestry, we believe our shared Europeanness is something we can all celebrate, regardless of how we voted in the referendum."
The 60-second ad was written by Dan Morris, art directed by Charlene Chandrasekaran, and directed by Noam Murro through Biscuit Filmworks. The7stars handled media planning and buying.
A mix of actors and non-professionals were cast for the ad in France, Italy, Poland and the UK. The track, recorded on location by String and Tins, uses every person’s real voice despite some of them lacking musical training or English language skills.
"Brexit divided the country on a number of issues, including ethnicity," said Rick Dodds, the executive creative director at Droga5 London. "But as Ancestry data proves that the average Brit is 60% European, ethnicity shouldn’t divide us – as we are all diverse, regardless of how we voted."
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