There have been dozens of fictional stories that imagine winning the lottery, but VCCP has given the arrival of Allwyn’s Powerball in the UK something more personal – almost interactive. It gets you (especially if you’re twenty- or thirty-something) wondering What Would You Do with the money if you won.

The evocative campaign supports one of the most significant game launches in The National Lottery’s history, introducing UK players to the transformational possibilities of Powerball. The full campaign covers TV (major broadcast, streaming and digital platforms, including ITV, Channel 4, Sky, ITVX, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon and Spotify), cinema, social media, creator partnerships, retail, experiential activations and a large-scale national out-of-home programme (rail networks, roadside sites, the London Underground and shopping destinations nationwide), designed to make Powerball one of the most talked-about launches of the summer, with media by Hearts & Sciences. The hero TVC launched during the FIFA World Cup Final on July 19, one of the most-watched sporting moments of the summer; exclusive placements cover UK cinemas during the opening weekend of The Odyssey (July 17-19), anticipated to be one of the year’s biggest film releases.

In digital, Snap Stars (Snapchat influencers) will ask their followers, “What Would You Do?” and use Snapchat’s Imagine Lens’ generative AI technology, to bring their answers to life, visualising how a life-changing win could transform their lives, communities, ambitions and dreams. 

Influencer creators will visualise the life-changing wins through niches of comedy, cooking, art, community, and more, developed in partnership with Coolr. Confirmed creators include Sketched by Siena (557.4k IG/TikTok), Harriet Rose (140.8k IG/TikTok) and Lagom Chef (1.5m IG/TikTok).   

Steve Parkinson, marketing director at Allwyn, stated,”Powerball represents an immensely exciting moment for The National Lottery and gives us an opportunity to introduce UK players to a game known globally for creating extraordinary prizes and unforgettable winners.

“With this campaign, we wanted to bring the transformational nature of Powerball to life in a way that feels relevant, culturally engaging and impossible to ignore. Whether that’s through landmark outdoor advertising, creator-led content, our innovative Snapchat activation or partnerships that place Powerball at the centre of social conversation, everything has been designed to get people thinking about one simple question, ‘What Would You Do?'”

Darren Bailes, global chief creative officer at VCCP, added, “Powerball jackpots are on a different scale to anything we have ever seen. This is not fancy holiday, new car or bigger house money. It’s sooooooo much bigger. A Powerball win is truly transformational-not just for the winner but maybe for their community, their town, maybe even the whole country. We are encouraging the country to think bigger, past the usual stuff and into the realms of ‘Oh yeah, I really could make almost anything happen’.  This is going to be a conversation with the country about their wildest dreams…some for good wholesome reasons, some for pure silliness, and some just for the sheer hell of it. Our AV, directed by Glenn Kitson, brings people’s answers to life in beautiful, fantastical CGI and collages that feel unlike anything in the category.” 

Simon Carr, chief strategy officer, Hearts & Science, concluded,“A transformational game requires a transformational media strategy. We therefore couldn’t approach Powerball with a conventional playbook – the scale and ambition of “What Would You Do With Powerball Money?” meant we had to challenge every assumption about where and how this story gets told. From the World Cup Final to The Odyssey to AI-powered creator content, every media decision was built around how we put players, not the product, at the heart of the campaign.”

Credits:

Client: Allwyn [Powerball]
Managing Director, Digital: Richard Dawkins 
Marketing  Director: Steve Parkinson
Media Director: Ben Brown 
Brand Director: Anna McInally
Head of Product Marketing, Jackpot Games: Ana Trompeta Garcia 
Senior Marketing Manager: Heather Turner
Media Strategy Lead: Mark Edmunds

Advertising Agency: VCCP
Global Chief Creative Officer: Darren Bailes
Creative Director: Liam Wilson
Creative Team: Sarah Lisgo & Agatha O’Neill
Managing Director: Hannah Fitz-Gerald
Business Director: Piers Raffo
Senior Account Manager: Jasmine Khaliq
Account Executive: Miles Seymour
Group Planning Director: Joe Miller
Planning Director: Thom Pickering

Girl&Bear
Integrated Project Director: Romana Kit
Senior Integrated Creative Producer: Jonny Powell
Senior TV Producer: Ed Mueller
Senior Post-Producer: Heather Mooney
Executive Art Producer: Ellen Webb
Film & Content Producer: TJ Sulaiman
Design Director: Clary Vikstrom

Production Company: Iconoclast
Managing Directors & Executive Producers: Jean Mougin & Guy Rolfe
Head Of Production: Beatrice Warren
Director: Glenn Kitson
Producer: Alex Jefferson 
Production Manager: Ada Almeida
DOP: Elliot Holbrow
1st AD: Alan Finlay 
Production Designer: James Hatt

Editing: Marsheen
Editor: Rob Daglish 
Executive Producer: Harriet Crawley

Post-Production: Electric Theatre Collective 
Executive Producer: Laura Northover
Producer: Jamie Hughes
Creative Director: Jess Gaynor, Ryan Knowles
VFX CG Supervisor: Will Medcalf
VFX 2D Supervisor: Amy Smith
Colour: Luke Morrison 

Sound: 750mph 
Sound Engineer: Sam Ashwell, Mike Bovill
Producers: Rachel Saxon, Olivia Ray
Music Supervision: The Hogan

CRM: VCCP Loyalty & CRM
Social: VCCP Social Cub
Media: Hearts & Science