Fronted by comedian Billy Connolly ( sporting beard and moustache, that's been
dyed red for some unknown reason), the, "Don't live a little, live a Lotto",
advertising campaign is as offensive as it could be.
Connolly rips the p--s out of companies which spend a fortune on revamping and
renaming their product, and sarcastically comments about Camelot's difficult
boardroom decision to rename the National Lottery as 'Lotto'.
Amusing ? Not really when one considers that this campaign is costing some
72 million GBP, which will come out of money which should by all rights be
going to good causes. That any company should advertise such an excessive waste
of money in a campaign which goes straight ahead and tells its potential
customers, "Hey ! We're a bunch of w--kers", is completely twisted.
Fighting a decline in revenue which has amounted to 500 million GBP over four
years, Camelot have had to do something. Re-jigging the National Lottery logo
and renaming the damn thing is hardly going to do much. As most observers have
commented, this is little more than a cosmetic change, which no one will care
about.
Research has shown that the biggest complaint against the National Lottery has
been the single, big prize, payout. Most people want to see a much wider spread
of smaller prizes, giving them a greater chance of winning something. The new
name change is nothing more than that, and does nothing to offset the complaints
made against the game's format.
Another complaint is that while 'The National Lottery' had some sort of
authoritarian and professional air about it, 'Lotto' sounds
like something one would find in a tabloid newspaper; that which only 'the poor
and deprived' would be attracted to and play - Bingo on a national scale.
Perhaps Camelot have decided to pander to those at the bottom of the social
scales, who find it incredibly hard to say, "Lottery". A gutteral grunt of,
"Lotto", making it much easier to collect idiot tax from those who
have been previously excluded from a chance of winning a few million quid
at odds greater than being killed by your own fridge.
Ms Diane Thompson, Chief Executive of Camelot ( who is no doubt now
referred to as Mrs Lotto ), announced at the press conference launching the
re-branding; "Lotto isn't just a game, it's an attitude. It brings
out the best qualities in everyone".
What complete, and utter, pretentious bollocks, which doesn't say anything, let
alone mean anything.
It does sum up the National Lottery pretty well though.
Did You Know ...
Of all the money going into the National Lottery, approximately 50% is ever
returned as prize money. On average, some 28% goes to good causes, while the
other 22% goes to ticket sellers, Camelot and the Government ( who take a 13%
cut as Lottery Duty ).
Source : Camelot Group plc
It is estimated that some 20,000 people play the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
every week. If those balls come up, everyone will win about 5 GBP whether they
have matched three balls, or all six.Billy Connolly was addicted to drink and drugs, so much so that he frequently
passed out. After a wine and cocaine session in Elton John's studio, it was
thought he'd died. Drinking at breakfast and knocking back up to 30 brandies
a night, he once go so inebriated that he couldn't find his way out of a
telephone box. The ideal role model for the National Lottery - Live a little,
live a Blotto.
Source : "Billy", a biography by Pamela Stephenson ( Mrs Connolly )
