Mexico's National Airline Trolls Americans With 'DNA Discount'
(CBS/CNN) -- AeroMexico's cheeky new ad targeting American's who "don't like Mexico" is taking off on social media. The country's national carrier unveiled a program called "DNA Discounts," which offers discounts on flights to Americans who can show by taking a test that they have Mexican DNA.
The ad begins by questioning why Americans don't travel to Mexico more often.
"We went to a typical American town to ask why they don't consider Mexico an option to travel to," the ad states. Representatives from AeroMexico interview some residents of Wharton, Texas, which is about 300 miles north of the Mexican border.
When asked if they'd consider a trip to Mexico, the residents were solidly against the idea.
Airline representatives ask one couple if they like tequila. "Yes!" he says without hesitation. They ask if he likes burritos. "Yes," he answers. They ask if he likes Mexico. His answer: "No."
That, of course, is where the big reveal comes in. The same people are told on-camera what percentage Mexican DNA they have. Most are stunned, some are dismayed, others confused.
One woman seems befuddled by the news that she is 14 percent Mexican. When it turns out her husband is 18 percent Mexican, he responds "That's better than you." Her reaction is classic.
The amount of the discount depends on the percentage of Mexican ancestry. For example, a person who has 15% Mexican heritage qualifies for 15% off.
"Betsy" wins for best reaction -- she seems downright disappointed when she learns she's only three percent Mexican.
However, there is much more going on with the campaign than simply wanting to encourage travel there.
A chart onscreen explains how long immigration between the two countries has been going on and which states in the United States are likely to have high numbers of people with Mexican heritage.
The promotion is specifically targeted at states in the Western United States, including Arizona and Utah.
No politicians or political issues are mentioned by name, but it appears AeroMexico is using its ad to examine tensions between the two countries.
And this isn't the first time AeroMexico has addressed political issues in its commercials.
In 2016, the company released an ad entitled "Fronteras" (Spanish for "Borders") that featured moody black-and-white shots of children pressed up against walls and chain-link fences.
The ad came after now-President Donald Trump's campaign promise to build a border wall between the two countries.
AeroMexico is part of the SkyTeam alliance, whose other members include Air France, Delta Air Lines and KLM.
The "DNA Discounts" ad was released by Ogilvy, the airline's advertising agency. So far, AeroMexico has not commented about the ad on its official Spanish or English-language Twitter feeds or Facebook pages. CNN has reached out to AeroMexico for comment.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN contributed to this report.)
