To fight narrow-mindedness and show we have more in common with people around the world, we invented a completely new way of travelling: The DNA Journey. A journey where you don't decide the destination, your DNA does.

For the main film, we invited 67 people from around the world to take a DNA test revealing where their ancestors came from, going back 2000 years, then gave them a chance to travel there. The often surprising results forced people to rethink who they are and made them more willing and open-minded to travel to the previously foreign places.

Afterwards, we extended the invitation to include everybody else with the chance to win a DNA test kit and ultimately a personal DNA Journey.

The campaign started as a world-wide survey that showed a link between people’s travel habits and their tolerance towards other cultures.

Then came the main film, in which people from all over the world had their DNA tested to show their ancestral history, dating back 500-2000 years. The participants were interviewed about their sense of national identity, pride, patriotism and prejudices. Secondly, they were asked to reflect upon their often surprising results once revealed to them. Six additional portrait films told individual stories in more details.

After this, we invited the whole world to participate. With the chance of winning their own DNA Journey, people applied for momondo DNA spit kits. The finalists who received them, uploaded videos of themselves once they received their DNA results. The campaign lasted approximately 3 months and ended when the winner of the competition travelled the world for their DNA journey.

1. Focus on tolerance and openness in the world - global attention:

+843million total reach

+378million video views

+984 press clips

+8,3billion media impressions

2. Starting a universally relevant conversation - engagement:

+11,5million social engagements

98% organic sharing

3. Turning debate into a popular movement - community:

Film over-represented in regions burdened by conflict; 15.7% of total views in Middle East

170.378 joined chance to have their own DNA-Journey (finally won by Manuel from Mexico)

Content used by numerous schools, universities, corporations, social communities and talk shows (e.g Oprah)

The DNA Journey was more than a film about a small group of people being confronted with their genetic ancestral history. It was the chance for everybody else to learn something new about themselves by participating in the world-wide competition to win DNA kits and ultimately a DNA Journey.

The topics of diversity and tolerance are universally relevant for the future of humanity and for momondo, a global travel search engine. Our challenge was to give momondo’s purpose a strong voice, spur conversations and drive the content virally to generate real social impact. In response, we created a platform and content that served as a point of view in an ongoing debate, while simultaneously addressing value of diversity in the most direct and potent way possible: it is only when you experience something different that you start to see things differently

Travel is not just for business and pleasure. Travel is important. But a recent global study shows that 48% think that we have become less tolerant towards other cultures. Momondo, the global travel search-site, believes we have more in common with the world than most think. In order to get people to travel with an open mind to create an open world, we needed to prove it.

Our task was to create communication that contributes to the purpose.

1. Create a focus on tolerance and openness in the world

2. Start a universally relevant rather than party-political debate on the issue

3. Turn the debate into a popular movement for a better world

4. Drive market penetration and increase market share