The National Lottery (TNL) was being outspent by competitors and Consumer Confidence had dipped. Christmas is a crucial period for TNL and we needed to maintain ticket sales to ensure returns to the good causes TNL funds remained strong, in spite of the increasing competition for wallet spend at the most expensive time of year. Our communications needed to work harder than ever to achieve this - the brand would go big at Christmas for the first time ever. We needed an idea that would supercharge our emotional power. A campaign that people would notice at the most challenging time for advertising to cut through in the UK - Christmas. We had to do this in spite of new CAP CODE regulations precluding the use of anything appealing to children - no classic Christmas characters like Santa, no animals, no famous faces and no-one looking under the age of 25.

The solution was to come up with a creative idea that would capture people's attention and resonate with their emotions. This idea would need to be bold and unique, something that had never been done before. With this in mind, TNL decided to go big at Christmas for the first time ever, pushing the boundaries of creativity to deliver a campaign that would be impossible to ignore. By doing so, TNL was able to overcome the challenges posed by the regulations and cut through the noise of the crowded advertising landscape, making an impact that lasted long after the festive season.

Regulatory restrictions meant we couldn’t show anything appealing to children so classic Christmas tropes were out. But in restriction we found inspiration, with another festive classic. Festive romcoms feature heavily in Brits’ seasonal traditions and rituals - so we made one of our own. Winning the lottery made people feel like the luckiest person on earth. But we realised that finding ‘the one’ made them feel just as lucky. This unlocked our story: a young couple, brought together by a winning lottery ticket. A festive romcom. A TNL lottery ticket at the heart of the story. The dual win of love and money. As well as airing online, we worked with the National Lottery-funded British Film Institute to give away hundreds of thousands of tickets exclusively to National Lottery players for screenings of Love Actually to get people in the Christmas rom-com spirit, with our film shown beforehand.

The ad opens with a chance meeting between two strangers on a train who hastily exchange phone numbers on the back of a National Lottery ticket. The girl discovers that the number is smudged and hopes the pair will meet again. As tension builds with news of an unclaimed winning lottery ticket, the couple ultimately reunites, lucky in both love and the lottery. This heartwarming story makes Christmas truly magical and encourages the audience to believe in the magic of hope and possibility. Overall, the ad promotes taking chances and embracing the holiday spirit of wonder and joy.

Our campaign was noticed. Claimed ad awareness saw a YoY uplift of +4.3% in November 2022, and +9.9% in December 2022.

Our campaign was engaging. Our TVC achieved a SystemOne star score of 5.8 (measures long-term impact; emotional engagement is the primary factor).

Our campaign changed attitudes. Brand consideration increased 1.8% (to 74%) during the bulk of the campaign period, and increased 2% (to 75%) in the tail end of the campaign, and into 2023.

Our campaign changed behaviour. Our big Christmas draws got more people playing than ever and 52% of the population claiming they bought a lottery ticket over the Christmas period.

Our campaign boosted sales. The two largest, daily ticket Lotto sales recorded since game changes/relaunches in 2016 were achieved before the two big Christmas event draws. Total sales across all games saw a sales uplift of £10.6m.