Musical Scratchcards

Today Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, launches its Christmas campaign, which celebrates the entertaining ways adults come together to play Scratchcards. 

The integrated Christmas campaign is the first created by VCCP London since winning the account in 2023 and celebrates the fun, away from the phone, interactive role Scratchcards play in social moments - festive gatherings being a perfect example.

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 around the dinner table to other imaginative games, Allwyn’s goal is to make Scratchcards a part of group traditions that families with older children can look forward to each year.

VCCP’s global content creation studio Girl&Bear worked with acclaimed director Steve Rogers and Biscuit 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. As the Stratchcards 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 includes a National Lottery Good Cause choir, called VoxSkool, singing a bespoke version of ‘12 Days of Christmas’ on radio, a social campaign that shows local community groups Deal Dippers and Swindon Skaters showing how they play with Scratchcards during Christmas alongside a print campaign across press and OOH. Additional activity includes a takeover of the entire WHSmiths 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.

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.”

Darren Bailes, Global Chief Creative Officer at VCCP, added: ”We did a piece of research all about Scratchcards - and learnt the weird and wonderful games, and traditions that people already have. This work will share those ideas with everyone, in the hope that more traditions and games are invented. The cast was stellar and Steve, our director, brought out some incredible performances in the film.”

This marks Allwyn's third major campaign since taking on the role of National Lottery operator, with a focus on introducing exciting new experiences and raising funds for Lottery-supported projects. This year’s scratchcards are bespoke for 2024 and feature a cracker, gift tag and Christmas card.

The campaign will run across social, radio, AV, OOH, press and YouTube for six weeks, with media planning and buying handled by Hearts & Science.