Everyone Shares the Spanish Christmas Lottery Win in a ‘Chain of Tickets’

The 2021 Spanish Christmas Lottery ad is about sharing the luck this year.

As in the previous three years, it has been developed together with creative agency Contrapunto BBDO and revolves around the line: "We share the luck with whom we share life".

As in previous years, the announcement of the Lotería de Navidad 2021 revolves around two fundamental values: solidarity and generosity. On this occasion, the main characters are the residents of the Baztan Valley, in Navarra. In the place, in the run-up to Christmas, a mysterious ‘chain of tickets’ begins that will lead all the inhabitants to display their ingenuity and build a feeling of community.

One of these neighbours is about to go through his mailbox when he finds a yellow envelope containing something unexpected: a share in the Christmas Lottery and a short note. "Dear neighbours, I have thought that if you touch this number, nothing would make me more excited than to celebrate it with the people I appreciate. Merry Christmas," says the mysterious paper. "What if we do the same?" Asks one of the protagonists. Thus begins an  ingenious chain of invisible friends who manage to give away the number while remaining anonymous. 

After a couple of knocks on the door,  another envelope slides under the entrance of Amparo's greengrocer, who quickly goes out to the street to try to discover his messenger. The mysterious neighbour, motivated by that yellow envelope, observes his reaction hidden behind an adjoining house. But the gesture of solidarity does not end there. It is now Amparo who decides to continue with the chain and leave another share of the same ticket in a robe hanging in a grocer that, the next day, the owner finds while working in his store. 

On the outskirts of town, Paco's tractor works in the snow. But the number also reaches him. This time held by a friendly snowman, who is waiting for you smiling with the number in his hand (or on the branch) and warmly dressed. Such is the impact of this chain of tickets that the local newspaper echoes it and, as any place is good to hide one, the neighbour who is reading it bumps into the ticket on the next page. The town thus gets into a bustle of people giving and receiving anonymous tickets. 

The residents of the Baztan Valley take advantage of every occasion to act as invisible friends. A Christmas choir concert is the perfect opportunity for one member to subtly slip the ticket into the pocket of another. Also, in this town if you leave your instrument box open, there is a high probability that your companion will give you a ticket for the draw. Nor can you get lost while the train passes without finding a share in your bag. Even some eggs, in a  chicken coop, are a great place to leave a ticket. 

Thanks to the ingenious chain, the whole town seems to have the number in their hands. The streets are filled with happiness and exclamations. The people, in their solidarity, have managed to get everyone to share a prize, but, above all, an experience. 

This year the agency in charge of the announcement was once again Contrapunto BBDO, which has also carried out the campaigns of other years.

As Carlos Jorge Hernández, general creative director of Contrapunto BBDO pointed out, the new campaign sought to provide a traditional touch at the same time as a modern look . "The values ​​of Christmas and the raffle are still in force, they never expire. But this time we also had to look forward to the future."

On this occasion, the production of the advertisement has been carried out in Elizondo and Irurita, two towns in the Baztan Valley, in Navarra, with a budget of 750,000 Euros. The ad was directed by Moriarti, a collective made up of the filmmakers Jon Garaño, José Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregi. They are known for the feature films ‘La tinchera infinita’, ‘Handia’ and ‘Loreak’, titles that have garnered more than 450 awards at national and international festivals, highlighting 12 Goya awards and two nominations to represent our country at the Oscars.

Lobo Kane was the production company responsible for the ad.

The aesthetic has sought a Christmas story atmosphere and an idyllic and unique atmosphere so that the story comes to life. The personality of the staging and the characters has been achieved thanks to the work of the producer Lobo Kane, with César Martínez, in charge of the art department; by Javier Aguirre, director of photography; or Saioa Lara, costume director. In total, the team has had 180 professionals in front of and behind the cameras.

Contrapunto BBDO has been the agency responsible for the recent Christmas Lottery  campaigns. They picked up the baton from Leo Burnett in 2018, creating ‘22 again’, the story of a man trapped continually on the day of the draw. In 2019 they developed four different stories in ‘Unidos por un décimo’ to reflect on the values ​​linked to the social ritual of the Christmas Lottery. And last year, they created two spots - "Neighbours" and "Brothers" - articulated under the title "Share as always. Share as never before."  

The campaign will have a six-week run, in which different materials will be activated on television, press, outdoor, radio and digital. In addition to the 90-second piece, "Chain of Tickets" will have 45- and 30-second iterations.

The ad and the slogan "We share luck with those we share life with" will also be heard on radio and audio platforms. Different spots will be broadcast on these channels that reflect different social environments in which tickets are traditionally shared.