Denver-based creative agency Cactus continues its creative winning ways, as evidenced by its latest campaigns for the Colorado Lottery and the North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL).
“As Good as Gold,” Cactus’ most recent campaign for Colorado Lottery, plays like an 80s sitcom about the kooky hijinks of two Wild West gold prospectors, Elijah and Jeremiah, and their mule, Eugene, who are living in the suburbs and mining for millions via the new Gold Rush scratch-off game. You can watch (or should I say binge) all three episodes here: Theme Song, Striking Gold, and Bear Traps.
In addition, the latest spot in the North Carolina Education Lottery’s ongoing ‘Winners Club’ campaign is Happy Crier, which Shea Tullos, Cactus Group Creative Director, says helps emphasize the versatility of celebrating a lottery win. “There’s no wrong way to celebrate a lottery win,” he says, “and with new members joining the North Carolina Education Lottery Winners Club every day, a happy crier was bound to show up sooner or later.”
As funny as Cactus’ lottery work is, the numbers are no joke. The Winners Club campaign has been particularly successful, resulting in an astounding 13.5 percent year-over-year growth in scratch-off ticket sales since its launch in 2022. As a result, the North Carolina Education Lottery has emerged as a leader among all state lotteries. Building on this success, Cactus is preparing to introduce a new campaign, featuring both familiar and new characters to celebrate the growing number of winners across the state.
Pushing Creative Boundaries:
Tullos explains that lottery clients are more inclined to push creative boundaries compared to other industries due to the high volume of similar products they promote. In a space where conveying a new value proposition is rare, it becomes crucial to make each game feel special. Additionally, lottery ads have a relatively short lifespan, with North Carolina Education Lottery Scratch-Off ads running for just three weeks. This shorter timeframe allows for greater risk-taking, as the agency is not tied to a campaign for an extended period.
For Joe Conrad, Founder and CEO of Cactus, the agency’s success with lotteries stems from a shared love of the business itself, the joy it brings to players, and the positive impact lottery sales proceeds have on the environment and communities.
“Whether it’s funding conservation efforts, school construction, mental health resources, support for police and firefighters, programs for seniors and veterans, this industry does so much to make the world a better place to live, work and play,” Conrad says. “Working in this space for as long as we have, our team can get to solutions quickly. That’s helped us earn trust and build partnerships where we can consistently make great, award-winning work that also significantly moves the sales needle for our client partners.”