Love Has Even Worse Odds Than the Lottery in McCann’s Broadway-Style Meet Cute

It turns out those odds are even worse, at least according to a fun musical number from the New York Lottery and McCann New York.

A young woman—vaguely reminiscent of Zooey Deschanel—and a young man—a cross somewhere between Joseph Gordon Levitt and Ryan Gosling—stumble on each other one quaint, rainy night. There’s magic in the air as they lock eyes—and they break into song—marveling at the their romantic luck over a jazzy piano intro.

That unbridled optimism, though, is not long for their little world. As the duet picks up steam and they get to know one another, it becomes clear they’re not very compatible after all.

It’s a fun little ride—the tune is well-written, the interjections are sharp, the choreography is the right balance of gleeful and cheeky. It’s lushly filmed, and taps into familiar rom com tropes—evoking La La Land and 500 Days of Summer—but also delivers a twist, skewering them wonderfully.

First, there’s the breathlessness of the meet cute and the honeymoon phase—then there’s rapid deflation of expectations that often follows as reality sets in—hopes dashed in nearly an instant. Just like playing the Take 5—except in that case, the thrill probably doesn’t even last a day.

CREDITS

Campaign: “Go for the Win”
Client: New York Lottery
Agency: McCann New York

Creative
Eric Silver, North American Chief Creative Officer
Sean Bryan & Tom Murphy, McCann New York Chief Creative Officers
Mat Bisher & Dan Donovan, Executive Creative Directors
Jason Ashlock & Dominick Baccollo, Creative Directors
Johan Leandersson, Senior Art Director
Ryan Paulson, Creative Director, Writer

Production
Nathy Aviram, Chief Production Officer
Chance Bassett, VP, Executive Producer
Eric David Johnson, SVP Executive Music Producer
Sam Belkin, Music Business Manager
Natalie Hernandez, Business Manager

Account
Scot Beck, Executive Account Director
Caroline Fuller, VP Account Director
Molly Vossler, Account Supervisor
Ellery Gitkin, Assistant Account Executive
Courtney Snead, Project Manager

Production
Speck/Gordon, Directors @ Furlined
David Thorne, Senior Executive Producer
Greg Schultz, Producer
Edu Grau, DP

Editorial
Ian Mackenzie, @ MackCut
Gina Pagano, Executive Producer
Mike Leuis, Assistant Editor
Gustavo Roman, Assistant Editor

VFX: Method Studios NY
Managing Director: Stuart Robinson
Executive Producer: Angela Lupo
VFX Supervisor + Creative Director: Doug Luca
Senior Supervising Producer: Tsiliana Jolson
VFX Producer: Kristin Engdahl
VFX Coordinator: Jared Levin
Flame Artist: Jared Pollack
Flame Artist: Chelsea Pistone

Additional
Composer: Joe Iconis

Music Company: Walker
Creative Director/Partner: Peter Gannon
Sr Producer: Abbey Hendrix
Engineer: Christopher Keyes
Associate Producer: Julianne Wilson
Recorded at Power Station Studios and Electric Lady Studios

Audio Mix: Paul Weiss @ Sonic Union

Choreographer: Josh Rhodes

Telecine: Tom Poole @ Co3