Whiskey ad features citizenship test question

JOHNNIE WALKER ASKS, COULD THE AVERAGE AMERICAN PASS A CITIZENSHIP TEST?

From: AdAge, Oct 25, 2017

By E.J. Schultz

Could an average American pass a citizenship test?

Johnnie Walker subtly raises this question in its latest "Keep Walking America" ad. The spot, by Anomaly, is the latest immigrant-friendly ad by the Diageo-owned brand, which grabbed headlines last year with a spot timed with Election Day that included an English and Spanish voiceover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land."

The new ad, called "Citizenship," shows a Hispanic man taking a citizenship test and later quizzing his white friends at a bar on one of the questions: Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? His buddies come up short when they misfire with guesses including Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock. "None of you would have passed," says the man, as he proudly reveals the correct answer, Thomas Jefferson.

The spot will surely provoke a reaction in the current political climate with its suggestion that immigrants might know a bit more about American history than people who were born here. "Becoming an American citizen is a moment filled with pride and accomplishment--especially after the efforts and sacrifices many people have to endure to reach that moment," Johnnie Walker says in a statement. "The spot showcases that America has always been and should always remain a progressive nation, built on values that celebrate and reward people from all colors and creeds."

Immigrants do pretty well on the U.S. citizenship test. CNN reports that in 2016, the pass rate was 91 percent.

View the ad here:

http://creativity-online.com/work/johnnie-walker-citizenship/53073