Lotto drops gaming angle in TV push

TAIPEI: Taiwan's newest lottery, which launched this month, has ignored images of striking it rich to focus on the fun side of games of chance in a through-the-line campaign developed by Ogilvy & Mather.

by | 01/25/2002

"The advertising stresses that it is a game, not gambling,

said Ogilvy & Mather Taiwan's business unit general manager, Daniel Lee. "It invites the consumer to join in the fun.

O&M's creative approach follows guidelines from the Ministry of Finance, which hopes to prevent a replay of the lottery mania that swept Taiwan in the late 80s. Then, the Government ended the decades-old national Patriotic Lottery as part of a crackdown on underground lotteries.

Even so, Taipei Bank, which has a five-year licence for the new lottery, believes the games will generate NT$100 billion (about US$2.9 billion) annually. That comes to more than one play per week per citizen based on an average price for the $50 online game and the $100 instant scratch tickets.

The lead television spot, which debuted two weeks before the launch of the lottery, features an overhead view of pedestrians breaking out in smiles as they negotiate a cross walk redesigned as a game of hopscotch.

'Find carefreeness in life' the slogan advises. 'Fun' rather than 'riches' is also the message of tactical spots for the lottery's three products - traditional tickets, instant win and online games.

The first burst of advertising will last three months through Chinese New Year.

The National Lotto account is believed to be worth up to $300 million for the first year. O&M won the brief - one of the largest pitched last year - in a contest that included J. Walter Thompson, Dentsu Young & Rubicam, Dentsu and Bozell.