LONDON – Europeans from across the continent send a love letter to Brexit Britain in Ancestry’s new television campaign, the first created by Droga5 London since the agency was appointed August 2017.
The ad promotes Ancestry’s DNA brand, and draws on research showing that the average British person has 60% DNA from somewhere in Europe*.
It opens on a suave French man reading about Brexit in the newspaper. He turns to camera and explains that although we may be leaving, Europe has a little message. We then cut all around Europe from Germany, to Poland, to Sweden, to Italy, as we’re serenaded with Rick Astley’s classic hit ‘Together Forever’. The overall effect is a reassuring and emotional message from our friends across the channel.
Russell James of Ancestry DNA said: “Our new campaign rises above the divisiveness of Brexit to celebrate the enduring cultural and ancestral links that millions of Britons have with Europe. At Ancestry, we believe our shared Europeanness is something we can all celebrate, regardless of how we voted in the referendum.”
“Every day we wake up to another uncertain headline about Brexit. The opportunity to put a factually reassuring message out there in amongst the sea of uncertainty was a rare one we didn’t want to miss. Brexit divided the country on a number of issues, including ethnicity. 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.” Rick Dodds. Executive Creative Director, Droga5 London.
The film was directed by Noam Murro and produced by Biscuit Filmworks UK.
The 60-second television ad broke on 29th January.
Credits
Chief Creative Officer: David Kolbusz
Executive Creative Directors Rick Dodds & Steve Howell
Senior Art Director Charlene Chandrasekaran
Senior Copywriter Dan Morris
Account Director Natasha Rich
Social Strategist Farah Dibb
Agency Producer Gemma Knight
Director/ Production Co Noam Murro / Biscuit Filmworks UK
Executive Producer Rupert Reynolds-MacLean
Producer Cathy Green
Production Designer John Beard
Editor Ed Cheeseman / Final Cut
Post Production Electric Theatre Company
Sound Design Mike Bamford / String and Tins
Music Negotiator Hywel Evans / Run! Get! Music!
Typographer Aithche Smyth
DoP Jo Willems
*Based on data from AncestryDNA customers born in the UK to Nov 2017
