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Instant Kiwi keeps it real, DDB embraces the art of interruption

Instant Kiwi is all about giving low-level gamblers a short, sharp thrill. And DDB has attempted to bring that idea to life in its latest campaign, the first to feature New Zealand Lotteries' new over-arching tagline 'Winning Happens'. 

Research suggests there are around 76,000 winners a day, or a winner every second and a half, so DDB chief executive Justin Mowday says the idea is to "give people a sense that winning happens and that it's happening all the time and right across the portfolio". 

Mowday says it is a departure for both client and agency to do a lot of smaller executions rather than a huge blockbuster like Lotto's Lucky Dog. But it wanted the ads to match the feel of each Instant Kiwi game, which are "almost like little interruptive moments during the day". The same approach applied to Keno, for which there is a series of radio ads. 

"They're pretty hard working retail ads, but when you see the ads in the context of an ad break where it's inbetween all the yelling and Harvey Norman ads, they really stand out," he says. 

It decided to release a couple of the fairly strange 15 second Instant Kiwi ads by themselves to create a bit of intrigue and chatter before releasing the longer, explanatory spots that give these ads some context. 

"It's quite a modern campaign construct, because we want to keep adding bits to it and fuel the conversation rather than unloading all at once with a big 'ta-da," Mowday says. 

Having an over-arching tagline for all the games under the NZ Lotteries umbrella is also a departure, but, as Mowday says, the reality is that "consumers go to a Lotto store and they play a lot more than just Lotto". 

"They see it all as Lotto," he says. "So let's embrace that and get people to discover the range of games people can play." 

DDB's creative director Shane Bradnick says "the creative idea is the thought that if there's a win every second and a half, then 'someone feels like this'".

The ads were directed by duo Lionel Goldstein of Australian production company Luscious (one half of the team, Koen Mortier was responsible for the fantastic 'Push to Add Drama' campaign in Belgium). And Bradnick says the team was chosen because they prefer to use real people in the productions. 

The last Instant Kiwi campaign, 'It Pays to Push Your Luck', was made to look like reality TV, although most of it was actually scripted. This campaign, however, features people who have been pulled off the street, sent into wardrobe and make-up for a few minutes and then forced to, for example, run down an alleyway and jump through paper without knowing what was on the other side. So, as Mowday jokingly says, it's more like real reality. 

Each ad for Instant Kiwi relates to the game itself, the first of which is Stacks of Cash (it will be followed by more randomness for other games like Deal or No Deal). This randomness also aligns with the launch of the quirky Say It game a few months back, which featured a range of interesting quotes (but isn't thought to have been particularly successful in terms of sales). 

The recent Space Invaders promo, which was designed by Interbrand and featured ads by DDB, wasn't technically part of this campaign, but it also aligns with the strategy as it is specifically focused on the game. 

Credits: 

NZ Lotteries
Wayne Pickup – CEO
Val Green – GM Marketing
Kirsty Phillips – Head of Brand & Communications
Keri Merrilees – Senior Brand & Communications Manager
Reuben Wiremu – Brand & Communications Manager
 
DDB
Andy Fackrell – Executive Creative Director
Shane Bradnick – Creative Director
Jay Hunt/Pete Gosselin – Art Director/Copywriter
Greg Jones – Group Business Director
Ryan Davies – Account Director
Louise Earles – Account Manager
Judy Thompson – Executive Producer
Samantha Meehan – Agency Producer
Dave McIndoe – Senior Planner
 
Luscious
Lionel Goldstein – Director
Andrew Morris – EP / Producer
Warren Keuning –  Producer

Offline:
Sam Brunette  – Toybox
Philippe Lods – Toybox

Online / VFX:
Chris Grocott – d'Luscious

Music:
Peter Van der fluit – Liquid Studios

Sound Design:
Coopers at Franklin Rd

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