Christmas Lottery 2023 announcement highlights family time in the hustle and bustle of modern life

The starting signal for the end-of-year festivities in Spain is the Christmas Lottery. The advertisement, as traditional as the raffle itself, was presented this Wednesday and focuses on the importance of dedicating time for the family in the hustle and bustle of modern life. The spot, conceived under this year’s motto of the campaign – “the luck of having us” – tells how a woman gets stressed between the tasks of work, home and Christmas errands, including buying the tenth of the lottery for his father. At the end of the day she wishes “that everyone would disappear” and wakes up to a deserted Madrid without people, including her mother. She enjoys the empty city, but she misses him and she goes to sleep at her house. The next day there is a reunion between father and daughter, who has finally bought the ticket, “an excuse to be together.”

Unlike last year, the audiovisual spot has been only one, but another four have been produced for the radio. They all revolve around the chance of meeting someone who becomes special, at work, on a flight or at a soccer game and “sharing the lottery with that special person.” The president of State Lotteries and Betting, Jesús Huerta Almendro, has indicated that the 2023 announcement seeks to “put the focus on what really matters, which are the people around us, our loved ones, who can be found in family or work.” He added: “For many, Christmas starts today, with the premiere of the announcement of the Extraordinary Christmas Draw. An era marked by feelings and traditions begins. And to speak of tradition is undoubtedly to speak of the draw, which is rooted in the depths of our society.”

The actors in the advertisement are Carlos Olalla and Andrea Thurman. The settings are emblematic sites of the Spanish capital such as Cibeles, the Prado Museum, Doña Manolita or the terrace of the Círculo de Bellas Artes. “It has been three days of intense but beautiful filming. “I feel very proud to be part of the lottery announcement,” said Thurman. The spot has been commissioned by the advertising agency Contrapunto BBDO, which in turn has had the production company Proppa, led by audiovisual director Martin Werner. The television launch will combine 30-second montages and longer two- and three-minute versions that will air during the first days of publication. On the website lasuertedetenernos.es You can see what the production process of the spot has been like.

This year for the Extraordinary Christmas Draw, 185 million Christmas Lottery tickets have been put on sale. The issue amounts to 3.7 billion euros, of which 70% will be distributed in rewards. That is, 2,590 million euros in prizes will be distributed. The popular Christmas “jackpot” is 4 billion euros, the second prize is 1,250,000 and the third is 500,000. The amount of the tenth remains at 20 euros and the complete ticket has a value of 200. Tickets have been on sale since last July, but Huerta has emphasized that “close to 70%” of sales have been made in the last two months of the year.

The draw will be held, as is customary, on December 22 using the so-called traditional system: a drum for numbers and another for prizes. The origins of the lottery date back to December 18, 1812, according to the press release released by the organizers. However, a more primitive version, called the Madrid lottery, was promulgated by King Charles III in 1763.

This year’s ticket is illustrated with the box The Nativity by the Master of Sopetrán, located in the Prado Museum. It also includes the logo of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Huerta recalled that in the last five years, significant amounts have been allocated to vulnerable people through the Red Cross, Cáritas and the Spanish Association against Cancer.

You can follow EL PAÍS Television on x or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.