After years of successfully celebrating the life-changing possibilities of winning big, DDB and Lotto NZ have ventured into new territory, highlighting Lotto NZ’s core purpose of generating community funding. 

This film enters the world of young Dylan, a keen, albeit trepidatious, football player, who with a light tap of the ball, sees his own life take a dramatic shift. 

DDB Chief Creative Officer, Damon Stapleton, says the 60-second film recognises Lotto players for the contribution many of them may not even realise they’re making. The spot sees DDB working with The Sweet Shop once again.

“This film sprung from the desire to tell Lotto’s other story,” says Damon. “There are dreams about winning, and then there are the dreams of the kids out on the sports field every weekend, and their parents standing on the side line. This piece isn’t about winning. It’s about the kids getting out there and having a go, learning about teamwork and perseverance."

Emilia Mazur, Lotto NZ General Manager of Corporate Communications and Social Responsibility, is excited to highlight this key aspect of Lotto NZ’s story. “We wanted to share a familiar Kiwi story that celebrates an everyday but, in its own way, extraordinary sporting moment,” says Emilia. “One hundred percent of Lotto profits go back into the community. With this film we want to inspire Lotto players about the opportunities they provide to sports at all levels across New Zealand, simply by playing.

“We love telling the story of the life-changing possibilities from winning big, but we also relish the celebration of small successes that happen every weekend on the sports field, the ones that make Kiwi kids and their parents proud for weeks,” she concludes. 

Mark Albiston, director at The Sweet Shop says, "I wanted this spot to feel really familiar. I personally identify with the frustrated but proud dad, and the girl reminds me of the really tall girls my friends and I all wanted to dance with at our old 'Blue Light’ discos back when I was 13 in the eighties. I hope that people see a lot of what makes Saturdays and being an early New Zealand teen really special and in its own way slightly agonising.”