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.)
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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.”