Genealogy service Ancestry, in collaboration with OMD Toronto and Radio-Canada, has launched a paid content series called Mon Histoire (My Story), and it is using one of the broadcaster’s most popular shows to get the word out.

The content series sits down with well-known figures to dive into their heritage and family history, a subject they are otherwise unaware of. The episodes are hosted on a dedicated partner space on Radio-Canada.ca.

The first episode of the series focused on comedian, actor and singer Dominique Michel, exploring her family history. Ancestry provided the artist with a detailed genealogy and the series followed her as she discovered more about where she comes from.

To get more people to see the content, an episode of Radio-Canada’s music show En direct de l’univers that celebrated Michel’s 90th birthday featured Ancestry-sponsored ad time posing a question to her about her family history. The episode, according to Numeris data, drew 1.4 million viewers.

“This paid content partnership with a top-rated, much-loved program in Quebec presented a great opportunity for us to reach French Canadians,” says Anjelica Pappin, head of marketing for Ancestry Canada. “En direct de l’univers is a great brand fit for Ancestry, given how it focuses on connecting people to meaningful moments in their past, something that we aim to help all Canadians achieve.”

“Paid branded content is most impactful when it touches its audience and presents information that’s relevant,” said Samuel-Olivier Barrette, senior manager, strategy and content at CBC & Radio-Canada Media Solutions.

The second episode of the series, which explores Canadian singer Kim Richardson’s genealogy, is now online.