Brief 4 – National Lottery (Sept-Oct 2005)
Hundreds of entries from students, creative directors, freelancers and agencies from all over the world were submitted in response to this fascinating and challenging brief, and we were delighted to be able to take a truly eclectic shortlist to our panel of judges. This is the first in a series of briefs focusing on 18-25 year olds – traditionally the most difficult people on the planet to target.
Creatives were tasked with persuading 18-25 year olds that playing the National Lottery could be the quickest way to realise their dreams and aspirations. The message? The National Lottery lets you 'Do everything you want to do, now.'
The acquisitional and aspirational values that characterise the target market featured in many of the ideas submitted. The judges felt that this was best evoked by David Dearlove and Paul Rizzello, an art director and copywriter team from London-based recruitment advertising agency ThirtyThree, who took home the first prize of GBP 1,000.
Their campaign, entitled 'Get Rich Quicker', taps into the minds of the target audience by focusing on the idea that 'waiting sucks', and features images of bored secretaries, bus stops and nightclub queues. Their entry also suggested a marketing tie-in with Cribs, the popular MTV programme that showcases the houses of the idols of urban youth culture.
The panel felt that the winning entry best overcame the key problem faced by lotteries around the world: that while young people aspire to material wealth, they believe they have all the time in the world in which to realise that ambition. Why play the lottery when there's still so much time?
'It's a Pop Idol generation where there isn't the time to play lots of pubs before getting famous. I think a lot of the submissions skirted around the issue that this one has nailed. It's a big enough idea to absorb other ideas' (Trevor Beattie – Beattie McGuinness Bungay)
Of the two runners-up, one print entry, from Hermeti Balarin and Ana Brando, used the slogan 'Life is fairer for rich people' and featured a series of arresting images with taglines such as '75 per cent of top models only date men who have more than £3m' and 'Sports car owners have free access to nightclubs'.
The other runner-up, Amy Hornett and Chris Coulson, students at Bucks University College who are currently on placement in London, devised a TV campaign ('Choose your numbers wisely') that offered novel ways of selecting lottery numbers.
The last word goes to Dianne Thompson, chief executive of UK National Lottery operator Camelot and regular member of the judging panel: 'This was a challenging brief. The problem of attracting 18-25 year olds to play a lotto game is universal. I was extremely impressed by the calibre of the work submitted and think that the winner showed outstanding creativity.'
Winner
David Dearlove and Paul Rizzello
David and Paul are a senior art director and copywriter team working in recruitment advertising. For the last five years they have been at ThirtyThree, one of the most creative companies in the sector. Between them they have won more than ten awards for the agency.
'People talk about advertising going through a massive period of change. If that means more ventures like OpenAd, then it can only be a good thing.'
Runner-up
Hermeti Balarin and Ana Brando
Hermeti and Ana have known each other for 13 years but teamed up officially only recently. After working for a couple of above-the-line ad agencies in Brazil, Hermeti moved to London in 2003, completing placements at CHI and Saatchi & Saatchi. Ana, a physiotherapist currently working for the NHS, took her first steps in ad land with this pitch. Their work was highly commended by the judges.
'Despite not getting any prize money as runners-up, it felt a bit like winning the lottery'.
Runner-up
Amy Hornett and Chris Coulson
Chris and Amy, art director and copywriter respectively, met on the advertising course at Bucks college and are currently on placement in London. Their work was highly praised by the judges.
'Taking part in OpenAd has been a fun and challenging experience for us. We're very pleased to be named as runner-up in the Lottery pitch. It's an encouragement to enter future briefs.'
