Camelot puts winning and good causes side-by-side for the first time

Camelot is launching a campaign that will ‘irrevocably’ link playing the National Lottery and the chance to win millions of pounds with the money it raises for good causes for the first time.

The ‘Play makes it possible’ campaign goes live on Saturday (5 July) on TV and will be supported by print, outdoor and digital activity, as well as retail execution in more than 37,000 stores. It starts with a campaign for the National Lottery master brand that will run for a month and is aimed at boosting participation.

The TV spot, developed by AMV BDDO, is set to a poem that uses language usually associated with a jackpot win but shows images of the causes the National Lottery has helped. For example the poem starts “A brand new home, a new set of wheels, spectacular pool, how good does it feel?” but rather than showing off a flash house and car it shows a new Scout hut, two wheelchair basketball players and swimmers at the London Aquatic Centre, all of which have received National Lottery funding.

The digital aspect, while promoting the dual aspects of playing, will also ask people to vote for their favourite projects in the National Lottery Awards 2014.

The initial campaign will be followed in August by a campaign for the National Lottery’s Instants format that will tweak the concept slightly to use imagery and poetry suited to its players and the wins that most appeal to them. Campaigns for the Lotto, Thunderball and EuroMillions formats will come later in the year.

Sally Cowdry, Camelot’s marketing and consumer director, says: “This overarching strategic campaign brings together the two fundamental elements of why The National Lottery exists – to week in, week out, create millions of winners and deliver millions to support National Lottery projects, which benefit the whole of the UK. The simple and emotive truth behind both is that ‘Play Makes It Possible’.

“Knowing about National Lottery Projects promotes positivity and has a direct impact on players’ participation in our games, so our new campaign looks to irrevocably bring the two together.”

Camelot introduced a new strapline, “Game Changing. Life Changing”, last year to showcase the dual purpose of the company to create winners and invest in cultural and sporting schemes. That message accompanied a fundamental shift in its offering, with the price of a lottery ticket doubling to £2 and the introduction of more ways to win prizes including a new “raffle game”.

Since then sales of the game have increased, by 5.6 per cent in the year to 31 March, or by £130m. In the first half of Camelot’s fiscal year, sales were down by £115m, or 9.6 per cent, but moved back into the black after the price hike.

Earlier this year it launched a campaign, “Just Imagine”, to promote schemes funded by the National Lottery.

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