The Nebraska Lottery is spreading some instant joy this season with its new holiday advertising campaign. Its ad agency Smith Kroeger, based in Omaha, Nebraska, created three 15-second holiday TV ads that visually show how the gift of a holiday scratcher can “color” your world.
Each TV ad opens with a scene set in black and white. The musical score is foreboding. But the gift of a holiday scratcher turns the scene into vivid four-color. “The inspiration from the black and white to color transition is a visual representation of the instant joy and color that Nebraska Lottery Scratch tickets bring to any holiday happening, no matter how mundane,” explained Katie Ferge, Account Manager, Smith Kroeger.
The lottery was sold. “When Smith Kroeger presented concepts for our holiday campaign this year, Instant Joy just stood out as being the concept we wanted to use. We loved the idea of transitioning from black and white to color and showing how giving, whether it is Lottery tickets or anything, can bring joy to someone. Additionally, having three :15 commercials let us showcase different scenarios for people to experience Joy [such as a bus stop or family room],” said Jill Marshall, Marketing Manager, Nebraska Lottery.
Ferge said “we wanted the transition to be smooth and organic, originating from the tickets entering each black and white frame and filling the scene with holiday decor and spirit. Our talent also transforms in attitude, feeling the holiday spirit when the Santa hand appears with a surprise gift for them.”
The use of black and white imagery is a great way to make an ad stand out with its old-school charm. “While this technique may have been used elsewhere, we didn’t see it in our research. When it came up in our creative brainstorming session, the entire team loved the idea of the visual and message, and we knew we had to present it to the Nebraska Lottery team. They loved it too, and we made our vision a reality with the help of Great Plains Motion Picture Company out of Omaha,” said Ferge.
The links to the three ads are below: