• by Aaron Baar , November 14, 2014

Some holiday traditions (lights, stockings, family togetherness) are to be enjoyed, while others (reindeer sweaters) are to be dreaded. The Ohio Lottery Commission is hoping the gift of scratch-offs can find its way into the former category. 

A new marketing campaign timed for the holiday season asserts that traditions should be cherished by all. In a television commercial, family gathering attendees embrace traditions with differing levels of enthusiasm. An adult son mopes about wearing lederhosen; a young woman complains to her sausage-making mom that she’s a vegetarian; a “second-cousin” tries to woo an attractive family member with mistletoe. Instead of these situations, the commercial asserts, everyone loves lottery tickets as a new tradition. (Also making a cameo appearance in the spot is the infamous “leg lamp” from “A Christmas Story,” which was filmed in Ohio in 1983.)

Static out-of-home and digital ads cite tradition-dampening statistics such as fruitcake having an 25-year shelf life or 40% of mistletoe lurkers have bad breath. The themes are united with the common tagline:  “It’s time for a new tradition.” Marcus Thomas in Cleveland created the campaign.

“It’s really about gaming for entertainment and becoming a part of [families’] traditions,” Sandy Lesko Mounts, deputy director of marketing communications for the Ohio Lottery Commission, tells Marketing Daily. “We thought it was cute and memorable. That’s important for a holiday marketing campaign.”

The advertising will appear on broadcast and cable networks and in local Ohio markets during primetime. The campaign also includes in-game scoreboard advertising on 23 Cleveland Cavaliers games, radio, and out-of-home elements. 

The holiday season is an important time for Lottery sales, Lesko Mounts says. Historically, the seven weeks prior to Christmas account for more than 20% of the Commission’s instant ticket sales. 

“There’s a heavy competition for dollars at gift-giving season,” she says. “As far as we’re concerned it never hurts to remind people.”