National Lottery Airs New Ad Campaign
The National Lottery has launched a new ad campaign, using a nostalgic slogan from the early days of the lottery. This campaign follows on from last month’s, in which it thanked lottery players for doing their bit in supporting community efforts during the pandemic. Camelot, which runs the lottery, has also been granted extra time on its license, due to setbacks during the virus outbreak.
Those who have played the lottery since it’s beginning will recognize the new slogan as the first ever. ©Dylan Nolte/Unsplash
A Nostalgic Tagline
The National Lottery has aired a new advertising campaign, with the tagline ‘It Could Be You’. If that phrase seems familiar, it’s because it is the original tagline used when the National Lottery first launched back in 1994. Creative agency Adam&Eve DDB came up with the bright idea, which invites players from across the UK to take part.
The ad campaign will be aired across a wide variety of platforms, including TV, radio and online. Ads feature the iconic bouncing lottery balls, making their way up and down the UK in search of new lottery winners. The balls bounce down a country lane, through a park, a building site and even a gym. The narrator then goes on to invite viewers to play online or on the app, with the tagline ‘It Could Be You’.
Camelot, which operates the National Lottery, has also revealed that it is working with streaming platform Spotify to produce a series of personalized scripts. These ‘It Could be You’ ads will cater to listeners’ music preferences. That means that ads for hip hop fans will differ to those who are more into pop or rock music.
Camelot is so excited for the new campaign that it is offering players a special lottery draw to mark the occasion. The ‘Must Be Won’ draw is due to take place on June 27th, and will offer participants the opportunity to win up to £15 million.
Tickets for this draw cost £2, and players must either choose 6 numbers between 1 and 59, or pick numbers using the ‘Lucky Dip’ feature. If there is no single winner for the ‘Must Be Won’ game when the numbers are drawn, the Jackpot will be split between all cash winners.
“Our new ad campaign for Lotto is inspired by the iconic tagline that sums up what playing The National Lottery is about – anyone who buys a Lotto ticket has the chance to win, so it really could be you.”– Keith Moor, Chief Marketing Officer, Camelot, speaking in a press release
As well as generating winners around the UK, the National Lottery also raises money for specially selected Good Causes. In fact, it raises over £30 million each week for these worthwhile projects. From arts and heritage, to sports, education and the environment, the National Lottery has funded Good Causes projects in every single UK postcode.
More than £41 billion has been raised, with over 565,000 individual grants distributed around Britain. As far as winners go, more than £75 billion has been awarded in prizes. The number of millionaires and multi-millionaires created by the National Lottery since it was first launched in 1994 now exceeds 5,700.
Supporting Projects Through the Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, charities and organizations have found it more difficult than usual to access funding to deliver services. Because of this, in April, the National Lottery announced that it would deliver a comprehensive support package worth up to £600 million to those most strongly impacted. That payment package consisted of funds raised by lottery players, as well as a previously announced £300 million community fund support.
As with all of its Good Causes, funding was distributed across all areas. In Scotland, Well Fed received £10,000 to boost its outreach during the pandemic. Well Fed provides healthy meals to people in need, whether it is those who are homeless, vulnerable or with low income. As many have been furloughed or lost their jobs altogether, more people are relying on such services than before the outbreak of the virus.
“The National Lottery has always supported projects that help people and communities across the UK thrive. And now, the funds available are switching focus to support communities, arts, heritage, sport, education and the environment to mitigate the unprecedented pressure they are coming under as the country rallies to overcome coronavirus.”– Dawn Austwick, Chair, The National Lottery Forum, speaking in a press release
At the end of May, the National Lottery thanked players for supporting community efforts funding the pandemic. I did this through the medium of a multi-media advertising campaign. The ads showcased initiatives that have benefited from lottery funding. These included the Youth Sports Trust and the BASIC Brain and Spinal Injury Centre, amongst others.
While COVID-19 has impacted the charities, organizations and projects that the National Lottery funds, it has also had an effect on the lottery itself. Camelot, which operates the National Lottery, has been granted an extra six months on its contract. The tender process for selecting the next license owner has also been put back by three months.
Camelot is currently on its third lottery license, having seen off all the competition since the very beginning of the National Lottery. Richard Branson has always been the most eager to take over the lottery, but this year he has already had to withdraw from the competition, to focus on supporting his existing Virgin endeavors through the coronavirus crisis.
