National Lottery add some play with Christmas scratchcards campaign

Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, launches a festive Scratchcards campaign, which celebrates the entertaining ways adults come together to play games at Christmas. 

The fully integrated campaign brings to life the fun, away-from-the-phone, interactive role that National Lottery Scratchcards play in social moments, festive gatherings being a perfect example.

Launching in the same week that The National Lottery celebrates its 30th birthday and announces a landmark £50 billion raised for Good Causes, this campaign Musical Scratchcards invites the nation to embrace Scratchcards by encouraging play that sparks laughter, shared moments, and even a bit of friendly rivalry. From playing a round of ‘Musical Scratchcards’ around the dinner table to other imaginative games in a wide variety of settings, Allwyn is putting The National Lottery at the centre of group traditions that families with grown-up children and groups of adult friends can look forward to each year.

The campaign was written by Katy Stanage and Alice Marani and directed by acclaimed director Steve Rogers. The production company, Biscuit, worked alongside VCCP’s global content creation studio Girl&Bear to bring the spot to life. It captures a family enjoying their annual game of ‘Musical Scratchcards’ where each family member takes a turn scratching when the music stops. As the Scratchcards are passed around, the excitement and laughter build, with friendly bickering adding to the joyful chaos that makes gatherings memorable. The film comes to an end with the iconic scratch of the card, perfectly capturing the playfulness of the simple yet meaningful ritual.

The campaign is fully integrated and features a National Lottery-funded choir, VoxSkool, singing a bespoke version of 12 Days of Christmas on radio. A social campaign includes local community groups, Deal Dippers and Swindon Skaters, showing how they have some fun with Scratchcards during their Christmas celebrations, alongside a print campaign across press and OOH. Additional activity includes a takeover of the entire WHSmith store in Victoria Station with static window posters and in-store retail media and activation, led by VCCP Retail Experience and produced by Girl&Bear, as well as a series of partnerships, influencer activity and podcasts.

Steve Parkinson, Brand and Marketing Director at Allwyn, said: “Christmas is all about shared moments, many times involving games and a healthy dose of competitiveness! National Lottery Scratchcards are all about adding some fun and excitement – so are the perfect thing to bring along to festive gatherings. Hopefully some big festive winners will be made, but of course, each moment of play also contributes to UK Good Causes, so it really is a win-win.”