• by Larissa Faw , September 24, 2015

The California Lottery has generated $1.3 billion for the state’s schools over a number of years. In order to highlight this contribution and thank all of the Californians who have helped to support schools by playing lottery games, the CA Lottery and its creative agency David & Goliath (D&G) are launching a campaign running across social media platforms and supported with paid media digital outreach and experiential events. 

The campaign uses a pencil to symbolize the fact that lottery money is used to provide technology, musical instruments and basic school supplies. 

In order to demonstrate the impact of something as small as a pencil, the agency worked with California-based artist Eric Nyquist to create an entire mural in one day, using only one pencil. "It was a live event and, at the end of the day the finished product was a visual representation not only of the Lottery funds at work, but also of how “a little goes a long way," says Stacia Parseghian, Group Account Director, D&G.

The mural was then filmed and edited into "A Little Goes A Long Way,” a 90-second online film following Nyquist’s process from beginning to end.  

The campaign does not have a product message, but rather serves as a simple reminder of the educational funding benefits provided by the lottery. "We developed the concept but then worked collaboratively with the artist to finalize the look, feel and objects representing different things that Lottery supplemental funding has helped provide for public schools," says Greg Buri, Creative Director/Copywriter, D&G. 

It took a while to find the right artist, says Parseghian. "We searched for California-based artists who stylistically fit the concept and whose artwork would translate into pencil drawings. Eric Nyquist was the obvious choice for his wide range of capabilities, along with his enthusiasm for doing something so closely linked to the state itself."