Camelot backs return of grand-a-week scratchcard

by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 02-Jul-08, 15:15

LONDON - Camelot is launching an ad campaign featuring a man on the "bus ride from hell" to promote the return of its £2 scratchcards that offer a prize of £1,000 every week for a year.

The new ad has been made by Camelot's long-standing agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO.

It shows a man sitting on a bus as rain pours down the windows. It is the bus ride from hell, with a passenger squashing him from one side, and then eating a large sandwich with gusto, and he grips the rail in front of him tightly.

The scratchcard sound effect that has been used on other ads is then heard, along with a scratch effect over the screen. The bus passenger is now seen dressed casually and the rail in front of him is now the safety bar of a roller coaster.

The ad cuts to a shot of the rollercoaster hurtling down the track, with the man sitting right at the very front. It then cuts back to the man -- still screaming with joy. The camera pulls back to reveal his fellow passenger -- the woman from the bus. She is clearly not a roller coaster fan, and the man glances at her and then looks straight ahead laughing.

A voiceover says: "Win a grand a week for a year. The Weekly Grand Scratchcard." The ad finishes with a close-up of the new Scratchcard with the giant rollercoaster ride in the background.

The ad breaks today and runs until July 28. It will be backed with in-store promotions materials. Media planning is by MPG and buying is by OMD.

Richard Bateson, controller of game development and scratchcards at Camelot, said: "We always see a fantastic response from players to regular payment games. Weekly Grand was a bestseller back in 2005 and we expect the new version to be just as popular this time round.

"The TV campaign, together with our comprehensive programme of support for National Lottery retailers, will allow us to gain maximum exposure for the game."

There are 10 prizes of 52 weeks' worth of £1,000 payments.