The campaign, created by bright, consists of direct mail and inserts supported by press and digital ads with a call to action directing consumers to visit ancestry.co.uk or call a number to take up the offer of a 14-day online trial.
There are three deliberately emotional creative themes - Industrialist, Drunkard and Bigamist. They are designed to provoke people into taking an interest in their past by suggesting that among their ancestors could be a wealthy industrialist, a drunk or an illegitimate child. The timing of the campaign is intended to capitalise on the post-Christmas period when family members are likely to have spent time together, and targets men and women over the age of 45.
The press ads will run in half- and full-page format across titles, such as the Daily Mail's Weekend magazine and Daily Telegraph magazine, as well as general-interest titles such as Computer Active and BBC Homes & Antiques. The inserts will run in publications including Your M&S. Actor Tony Robinson, who was recruited to front the brand in 2006, continues to be ancestry.co.uk's brand spokesman.
Ancestry.co.uk holds all the census data back to 1841. However, its research suggests that UK families' knowledge of their history is weak compared with their German, French, Italian and Swedish families counterparts.