Believe in luck…

Winning the jackpot is a dream come true for everyone, but there is nothing more valuable in life than love. That message rings loud and clear in Dutch State Lottery’s campaign for their New Year’s Eve Draw 2023. This special campaign tells the story of a young man who doesn’t let happiness depend on a big cash prize. On his journey through time, he discovers what really matters in life. When he must choose between the lottery ticket he just bought, or love, his choice is quickly made. The commercial, created by Amsterdam-based agency TBWA\NEBOKO, shows how something beautiful can emerge when you dare to choose what truly makes you happy.

After a successful campaign last year, which featured a son taking his father on the journey of a lifetime, Dutch State Lottery has done it again in making yet another heartwarming commercial. “Every year we try to touch the hearts of the audience with a moving story. A story that tells the message that winning 30 million is an amazing prize, but it comes second best to the love of those we surround ourselves with, that there are more important things to life than winning the lottery. After all, you hold your happiness in your own hands and what could be better than sharing that with someone you love? That’s the chord we want to strike among people this year,” says Michael Kastelijns, Business Director Dutch State Lottery.

Believe in happiness
In the TV commercial “Believe in luck”, we follow a young man whose luck is not dependent on a cash prize. His story begins as he walks past a billboard for the New Year’s Eve draw and his attention is drawn to an antique shop. Inside, he sees an antiquity that looks like a time machine. His curiosity gets the best of him, so he tries pushing the machine’s button and suddenly finds himself in a futuristic house in 2078. He catches his reflection in the mirror and sees an elderly version of himself. A pretty, old woman asks him tenderly “Is everything okay?” and just like that, the time machine whirls again and he’s in 2067…. with the same, seemingly younger woman. They’re enjoying a beautiful spring day together in the back of a sailboat and the man gets excited about his future. The machine activates again and with small flashes of his life, all with this beautiful woman, he slowly approaches the present.

It is 2023 again. He knows what he has to do: he quickly leaves the antique shop and enters the office supply store next door to buy a New Year’s Eve lottery ticket, just as he saw in the last glimpse of the future. Satisfied, he leaves the store, but when he’s not paying attention, he bumps into someone while accidentally letting go of the ticket. As he looks up, he sees the woman from his vision of the future. “Is everything okay?” she asks. At the same time, he sees his lottery ticket blowing further away. He must choose… the New Year’s lottery ticket or the love of his life. He chooses the latter and strikes up a conversation with her, while the ticket drifts away among the snowflakes.