That's the headline of a billboard promoting the New York Lottery.
The current campaign features a character called "Little bit of luck," a short nerdy guy with glasses and an oversized head. The sub-head proclaims "A million winners. A million of us."
But I had to do a double-take when I saw the photo. It was a shot of dozens of nerdy guys with glasses and oversized heads. Cute, but here's the problem... In New York, the most diverse of all U.S. cities, every one of the people pictured in the ad is white... and male.
I wonder how this ad is supposed to appeal to the rainbow of people here who are potential Lottery ticket buyers? This ad seems to send a message that if you're not white and male, don't bother buying a ticket because you're not one of "us."
An astounding error by someone at the ad agency and/or the New York Lottery, made even worse by the headline. Obviously, they didn't notice the pattern here.
Although this is one of the more clever ads from the NY Lottery, your point is well taken. Additionally, I don't understand why the lottery spends so much in advertising, especially on TV. Doesn't this dip into profits that should go toward education?
Posted by: Rocco Sacci | August 07, 2012 at 10:56 AM
Actually, Rocco, the idea of proceeds from the lottery going to education in NY may not be exactly accurate. I've read that while the Lottery money does go to education, the state moves the equivalent amount from the education line in their budget to fund other things unrelated to education. So it's a shell game, really.
Posted by: David Reich | August 07, 2012 at 11:04 AM