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This AeroMexico Ad Just Brilliantly Trolled The Border Wall Debate & You Need To See It

by Seth Millstein
Scott Olson/Getty Images News/Getty Images

One Twitter user called it "the troll of the decade," and perhaps for good reason — the latest ad from the Mexican airline AeroMexico has gone instantly viral. In its new "DNA Discount" ad, AeroMexico unveiled a program that offered travelers discounts on flights to Mexico if they could show that they have Mexican DNA, according to CNN.

"Mexico's first destination is America," the narrator intones at the beginning of the two-minute spot. "But America's first destination is not Mexico. So, we went to a typical American town to ask why they don't consider Mexico an option to travel to."

Several brief interview segments follow, which appear to depict white Americans in Wharton, Texas — which is some 300 miles from the Mexican border — explaining why they have no interest in going to Mexico; the reasons they offer include "not my cup of tea" and "let me stay here in peace, and let those folks stay on their side of the border." In one instance, an interviewer asks a man if he likes tequila and burritos, and the man answers "yes" to both questions.

"Do you like Mexico?" the interviewer then asks.

"No," the man replies.

"How do we increase USA flights to Mexico if a big part of Americans just don't like Mexico?" the narrator asks.

In the video, the narrator then says that the company performed DNA tests on them, then reveals to the participants (seemingly for the first time) that they're of Mexican descent.

The kicker: The participants were then told that they'd be given a discount on a flight to Mexico equal to the percentage of Mexican DNA they had. For example, the man who liked burritos and tequila, but not Mexico, was told that he is actually 18 percent Mexican, and as a result, will be given an 18 percent discount on a flight to Mexico on AeroMexico.

The video quickly went viral, and many interpreted it as a thinly-veiled commentary on President Trump's proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Set against the backdrop of the government shutdown, the video became an instant hit on Twitter, with many people hailing Mexico's national carrier for its creativity. For weeks now, President Trump has refused to budge on his demand for funding for a border wall between Mexico and the United States.

The narrator in the video notes that the AeroMexico discounts were given out "all over southern America in our travel agencies." According to CNN, the "DNA Discount" promotion was made available to some states only, Utah and Arizona among them.

It's not clear how long this promotion will go on or who else will be eligible to participate, but judging by the response this video's received so far, there may well be plenty of interest.