Following last November’s “You’d Make A Way Better Rich Person,” McCann New York launched a new campaign for the New York Lottery entitled “Get Drawn Together,” emphasizing how state-sanctioned gambling “draws New Yorkers together, in a fun way.”
Three spots then differentiate the New York Lottery from some less fun ways New Yorkers can be drawn together.
The approach works best in “Airport Motel,” which provides the most reasonable premise. Three guys are forced to share the last motel room when their flight get canceled, and we see them shooting for who gets the middle spot in the room’s only bed (what, no cot?).
The other two spots, “Dog Wedding” and “Corporate Retreat” are, to put it mildly, less effective due to premises that stretch the logic of the campaign well past the breaking point in execution, if not in concept.
“Dog Wedding” tries to play to laughs with two friends clearly not enjoying a dog wedding by making the guy remark on how “at least the cake is good” only to learn that it is, in fact, dog food.
This might just make viewers forget all about the lottery connection. Why would you let human guests mistakenly take cake shaped like dog food? And, even worse, how could you possibly not know that it’s dog food after taking a bite, let alone enjoying two slices?
Still, as ridiculously over-the-top as it is, two dogs dressed in wedding garb is pretty damn adorable.
“Corporate Retreat” presents a ridiculous lost-in-the-woods scenario. Many do indeed fail to enjoy corporate retreats, but the over-the-top nature of the spot detracts from the campaign’s message.
Credits:
Advertising Agency: McCann, New York, USA
North American Chief Creative Officer: Eric Silver
Co-Chief Creative Officers: Sean Bryan, Tom Murphy
Executive Creative Directors: Mat Bisher, Dan Donovan
Creative Directors: Nic Howell, Geoff Bentz
Copywriter: Lex Singer
Chief Production Officer: Nathy Aviram
Senior Integrated Producer: Alexis Mead
Group Account Director: Lauren LaValle
Account Supervisor: Geordie Larratt-Smith
Account Executive: Alesy Iturrey
Assistant Account Executive: Denis Mahon
Executive Strategy Director: Mike Medeiros
Strategy Director: Laura Frank
Strategist: Cristina Pansolini
Senior Project Manager: Steve Marchione
Director: Randy Krallman / Smuggler
Partners: Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody
Executive Producers: Shannon Jones, Jacqui Wilkinson
Head of Production: Andrew Colón
Producer: Ian Blain
Editor: Merritt Duff / Cutting Room
Managing Partner: Susan Willis
Producer: Lisa Starace
VFX: Light of Day
Color Correct: Lez Rutledge / Nice Shoes