Christmas is a magical time around the world, and an especially exciting moment for the UK, which sees many brands release their most-anticipated advertising campaigns. It’s not uncommon for marketing teams to begin work on these adverts months in advance in the hopes their storytelling will entertain consumers during the most important shopping season of the year.
For the 2022 Christmas season, The National Lottery once again worked with its agency partner adam&eveDDB to develop a concept that would encourage the British public to play the lottery, whilst also building brand equity. Rather than focus on a pure sales activation campaign during the cost-of-living crisis, The National Lottery and adam&eveDDB recognized the role that a powerful narrative would play in driving greater fame and positive feelings for the organisation.
“At a time when the nation needs some magic in the air, we wanted to create a larger-than-life story about the lottery and true love—two games of chance that make the perfect subject for a Christmas romantic comedy,” says adam&eveDDB group ECD Ben Tollett.
Would viewers also feel the love?
The National Lottery has long worked with System1 to pre-test its ads with the public before they launch. System1’s Test Your Ad platform allows brands to quickly and easily test TV, digital, outdoor, print and audio ads. The platform measures viewers’ emotions to offer accurate predictions of the business impact of creativity.
“A Christmas Love Story,” directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper, tells the story of a woman and man meeting on a busy train during the festive season. As she rushes from the train car, he writes his phone number on the back of a lottery ticket. Unfortunately, the number is smudged, so the woman returns to the station on New Year’s Eve to track him down. His quirky ringtone helps her reunite with him, at which point she excitedly announces he has the winning lottery numbers.
Pre-testing confirmed the strength of the story. System1’s reports provide three main metrics: the Star Rating (on a 5-Star scale) predicts an ad’s ability to drive long-term market share growth; the Spike Rating indicates short-term sales potential; and Fluency notes the strength of branding in the ad. The National Lottery scored exceptional on all three measures, including a 5.4-Star Rating.
“We all knew we were on to a good thing, but testing with System1 ahead of finalising the ad proved that we had a winning creative on our hands, and helped us make the final tweaks needed, including choosing the perfect music to make it great,” said Head of Marketing Communications and Creative Anna McInally
When the ad aired on TV in late November, it was tested again. At that time, it improved on each metric, scoring 5.7-Stars, a 1.50 Spike Rating and 97 out of a possible 100 for Fluency. Of all the ads airing during the Christmas period, The National Lottery’s love story landed the #9 spot, placing it firmly in the top Christmas ads of all time. It’s also the top ad in System1’s Casinos & Lotteries category.
The ad was also supplemented with a clever activation across the UK. The National Lottery installed photo booths at train stations to encourage travellers to take photos to be projected on nearby out-of-home spaces.
In the months following Christmas, System1’s Test Your Brand platform tracked the impact of The National Lottery’s marketing activity on its brand health. The platform reports on Fame, Feeling and Fluency metrics to predict future brand growth. The Christmas campaign was the gift that keeps giving for The National Lottery, which reached record Fame, Feeling and Fluency levels as a result.
“This campaign is all about The National Lottery’s ambition to be relevant, unmissable and be there when people care. Christmas is a magical time of year when people come together and everyone feels more hopeful,” added McInally. “We are so proud of how well it has been received by the public and the positive impact it has had on our brand.”