A new video from The National Lottery sees unsuspecting players getting more than they bargained for as they buy a ticket in a busy supermarket in Cumbernauld.
The humorous video sees TV and radio broadcaster, Alan Dedicoat, best known as the ‘Voice of the Balls’ on the BBC’s National Lottery programmes, ‘break’ into the store’s CCTV room and take over the tannoy system. His distinctive voice is heard singling out oblivious shoppers and thanking them for playing the National Lottery, which has raised a whopping £33 billion for good causes since it began in 1994.
Hidden cameras then capture cashiers handing over surprising gifts, which represent National Lottery funded projects throughout Scotland, to players along with their Lottery tickets and change – evoking bemused and hilarious reactions.
From a violin signifying Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, to a snowboard symbolising the Glasgow Ski and Snowboard Centre – the props celebrate the breadth of organisations that have all benefitted from National Lottery funding.
Les Nelson, from Cumbernauld, is captured in the video looking baffled as he is handed a pair of ice skates along with his Lotto ticket. He’d won skating lessons at the Time Capsule in Coatbridge, which has received £300,000 in Lottery funding. Les said: “This is amazing – I was expecting a couple of pound in change after buying my Lotto ticket, not a pair of figure skates and lessons at the Time Capsule. It’s terrific to know that I’m supporting my community by playing. It’s certainly something I’ll think about every time I buy a ticket in the future. Let’s just hope I’m a natural on the ice!”
Vicki Kennedy, spokesperson for The National Lottery, said: “Every week National Lottery players raise £34 million for charities and projects and that funding touches communities all over the country. This was a chance for us to thank National Lottery players for making so much possible and who better to deliver our message than the Voice of the Balls, Alan Dedicoat?”
Alan Dedicoat, who has called out the numbers on the BBC National Lottery programmes for over 20 years, said: “A lot of National Lottery players don’t realise just how much good they’re doing by buying a ticket, so we wanted to show them – literally – and have a laugh along the way. I’ve had so much fun giving Lottery players a surprise by booming over the store tannoy – I can’t think of a better way to say thank you for their continued support.”
National Lottery funded projects that took part in the video include the Scottish Tennis Centre in Stirling, Time Capsule Ice Rink in Coatbridge, Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, Glasgow Ski and Snowboard Centre, Glasgow Film Festival, MugStock Festival, The Briggait in Glasgow, the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick, as well as the Usher Hall and Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.
www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk, @lottogoodcauses on Twitter and Lottery Good Causes on Facebook.
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For press enquiries relating to the Lotto Thanks:
Victoria Irvine at Wire Media on victoria@wire-media.co.uk | 0141 440 6761 | 07951 365 636
Gillian Lamont at Wire Media on gillian@wire-media.co.uk | 0141 440 6761 | 07738 271 568
Notes to Editor
Embed code for video:
On average the National Lottery players raise over £34m each week – making a life changing difference to the nation.
To date there have been an average of 144 national Lottery grants for every postcode district
National Lottery players have raised more than £33 billion for arts, education, environment, health, heritage, sport and voluntary projects across the UK since 1994
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