What is the music on the Go Turkey advert?

What the Go Turkey advert sounds like

The Go Turkey advertising campaign, run by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office to promote Turkey as a holiday destination to UK consumers, has used warm, upbeat music to accompany its visuals of coastline, food and culture.

The music in the advert draws on traditional Turkish folk influences, giving it an instantly recognisable character that sets it apart from generic travel-ad soundtracks. Viewers across the UK have regularly searched for the track after hearing it, making it one of the more searched-for advert songs in the travel category.

It is worth noting that the Go Turkey campaign has run across multiple years and formats, and the specific music used may vary between versions. The information below covers what has been reported in connection with the campaign. Where exact credits could not be confirmed from an official public source, this article says so directly rather than presenting unverified detail as fact.

The folk music tradition behind the sound

The music associated with Go Turkey advertising is rooted in Turkish folk music, a genre with a long oral and instrumental tradition. Two folk songs have been cited in connection with Turkey destination advertising: “Güle Güle” and “Çaylak.”

“Güle Güle” is a well-known traditional Turkish farewell song. Its title translates roughly as “go with a smile” or “goodbye,” and its melody is associated with warmth and hospitality. That association makes it an understandable choice for a campaign designed to encourage British tourists to visit.

“Çaylak” (sometimes written “Çaylak Çaylak”) is another folk-rooted tune with an upbeat, singalong quality. Both tracks have been adapted for modern commercial use by various artists, and it is common for advertising campaigns to commission a fresh arrangement of a well-known folk melody rather than license an existing recording.

Exact track credits for the Go Turkey UK advert are best confirmed directly with the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office via their official UK site.

Cem Adrian and Turkish contemporary music

One artist whose name comes up in discussions of Turkey’s promotional music is Cem Adrian. He is a Turkish singer and composer known for a style that merges traditional Anatolian and folk elements with contemporary production.

Adrian has contributed to commercial campaigns and has a following beyond Turkey through streaming platforms. His vocal style, which moves between delicate and powerful registers, has made him a recognisable figure in Turkish popular music.

That said, his direct credit on the specific Go Turkey UK television advert has not been confirmed through an official public statement at the time of writing. If you are trying to match his voice to the advert, the most reliable method is to use Shazam or a similar recognition tool while the advert is playing.

How to identify music from any TV advert

If you hear a piece of music in a TV advert and want to know what it is, there are several practical steps you can take without spending much time.

The quickest method is to open Shazam or a similar music recognition app on your phone while the advert is playing and let it identify the track in real time. Shazam works on short clips and often recognises specially recorded advertising versions of songs.

If the advert is available on YouTube, check the video description. Many brands now include full music credits there, especially where the track is a licensed recording or a well-known song. The brand’s official social media accounts, particularly Instagram and Facebook, sometimes publish “behind the scenes” content that mentions the music used.

You can also contact the brand directly. The Turkish Culture and Tourism Office has a UK presence and a contact form on their official site. Customer services teams for larger brands often have this information and are willing to share it.

For TV adverts broadcast in the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) maintains a library of complaints and rulings that occasionally reference specific ad content, though music credits are not a standard part of their records.

Other notable artists in Turkish airline and travel advertising

Turkish Airlines has run high-profile global advertising campaigns that have included music as a central element. The Turkish pop star Tarkan, one of the most recognisable Turkish artists internationally, has been involved in promotional work for Turkish Airlines. His distinctive voice became closely associated with the brand across several campaigns from the mid-2010s onwards.

Tarkan’s involvement helped give the airline’s advertising an identifiable sonic identity in markets where Turkish music was not already familiar to audiences. His style blends Turkish pop with influences from across the region, and his earlier international success (particularly with the track “Simarik,” which charted across Europe in the late 1990s) gave him a profile that translated well to global advertising.

These campaigns are separate from the Go Turkey destination marketing run by the tourism office, though both draw on Turkish musical identity as a way of building warmth and recognition with international audiences.

Where to listen to Turkish folk music

If the music in the Go Turkey advert has prompted an interest in Turkish folk music more broadly, there are accessible starting points across the main streaming platforms.

Searching “Turkish folk music” or “Türk halk müziği” on Spotify or Apple Music will return curated playlists compiled by both Turkish and international editors. The genre spans regional styles from the Aegean coast to Central Anatolia, and the variety is considerable.

Cem Adrian has a catalogue available on both Spotify and YouTube. For a broader introduction to the crossover between traditional and contemporary Turkish styles, artists such as Sezen Aksu, Zülfü Livaneli and Baris Manco are well regarded both in Turkey and among international listeners.

If you heard a specific melody in the advert and want to trace its folk origins, searching the transliterated Turkish title alongside “halk türküsü” (folk song) on YouTube often turns up regional and archival versions that predate any advertising use.

What to do if you still cannot identify the track

If none of the above methods has confirmed the track you are looking for, there are a few further options.

The community at r/NameThatSong on Reddit is active and frequently successful at identifying obscure advertising music from short descriptions or hummed melodies. Posting a brief description of the melody or the advert itself usually produces responses within hours.

You can also try the WatZatSong service, which allows users to record a few seconds of humming and submit it for community identification.

For UK television specifically, the Advert Music database holds credits for a large number of British TV ads and is searchable by brand or product name.

Ultimately, the Go Turkey official channels remain the most authoritative source for confirmed music credits on their own campaigns. A direct enquiry through gototurkey.co.uk is likely to produce the clearest answer.

For more on the songs behind popular UK TV adverts, visit the Advert Music hub.