AeroMexico Surprised Americans With Discounted Flights to Mexico Based on Their DNA
No matter who you are, where you’re from or what your political leanings are, you likely love a good discount.
That’s probably what AeroMexico is banking on in their new, tongue-in-cheek (but poignant) ad aimed at Americans who stick their nose up at traveling to Mexico for a vacation.
According to CNN, about 35 million American citizens traveled to Mexico in 2017, making it the number two international destination for American travelers. However, there’s still some tension between the two countries, politically speaking, over the proposed border wall put forth by President Trump.
AeroMexico’s solution to all this hostility comes in the form of a clever, if unorthodox, discount. If there are some Americans out there who simply won’t consider Mexico as a viable vacation destination, perhaps a special discount could change their mind.
Just one thing: Your discount is entirely dependent on taking a DNA test to see what percentage of your heritage is Mexican.
So, essentially, if a person took the test and found out they were 15 percent Mexican, they would get a 15 percent discount to fly to Mexico. And some people in AeroMexico’s ad were pretty surprised to find out their discount.
The airline traveled to Wharton, Texas to interview some residents that were particularly pugnacious to the idea of traveling to Mexico. But upon hearing that they actually have some Mexican heritage, albeit a small amount each, some seemed to soften on their view.
“I like discounts,” said one woman in the video. And one man who was initially in disbelief at his result eventually changed his tune by saying, “Is that for real? So what if I want to take my wife?”
AeroMexico continued to give the tests and the discounts to other locations at travel agencies, according to the video. About 54 percent of those tests came back with Mexican heritage as part of the results. So, at least half of the customers were eligible for a discounted flight to Mexico.
AeroMexico’s so-called “DNA Discounts” campaign comes with the tagline “there are no borders between us,” which may be a skewer at the current border wall debate.
It’s not clear whether anyone has cashed in on the deal, but the new ad has received over 158,000 views on YouTube.