Camelot Wins With Ticket Chase Caper

What if you won the National Lottery? Plenty of Camelot’s ads have explored that idea over the years. But what if you won the lottery – and immediately lost your ticket? That’s the premise of “The Chase”, from adam&eveDDB for Camelot. It’s a concept with lots of potential for negative emotions – fear and sadness, in particular – but naturally there’s a happy ending.

There’s plenty of happiness on the way, too, as the brand wisely plays the scenario for laughs, creating a wild, slapstick romp which feels like it’s straight out of a classic British sitcom. The lucky but hapless Mo, our lead character, chases after his ticket with the help of his whole community, and eventually dozens of people are on the trail of the flying ticket, racing up tower blocks and catching buses to try and grab it. Eventually it blows into the hands of a kid at a bus stop, and there’s a joyful response as the ticket is handed back to Mo.

The tone of “The Chase” is overtly fantastic and escapist, but on the way the ad manages to touch on several concepts that are important to Camelot, its brand, and its current promotional priorities. The ad is keen to show how a single lottery win can have positive, knock-on effects for a whole community. It also has cameos from Ellen White and other athletes from the current  Euro 2022 football tournament – important as the ad will be shown in breaks during televised matches.

These themes and cameos aren’t drawn attention to – the makers know better than to let the overt marketing elements disrupt the knockabout, joyful vibe. The result is a strong 4-Star rating in the Test Your Ad platform with an exceptional short-term Spike score and strong brand recognition too. In other words, the ad works on every level – as a way of boosting sales during a sports event month, and also a way of creating positive longer-term brand associations for the Lottery. The story grabs viewers’ attention, and there’s a strong emotional journey leading to a peak when Mo gets his ticket back. Overall “The Chase” is an ad that puts entertainment first and reaps the effectiveness rewards.