Child’s play / According to a US report from Gen Z creative consultancy Adolescent Content only 8% of the generation born after 1995 feel that brands understand their age group. State lotteries on their own might not inspire excitement among young people, so why not associate with something that does? The global streetwear market was estimated by Strategy& to be worth $185bn in 2019. What’s more, its fans skew very young, with 60% under 25. Not just any brand would have passed muster with discerning fashion crowds. Mr Saturday, described by global streetwear magazine Highsnobiety as having ‘cult status among fashion enthusiasts’, is a brand with many qualities that would likely resonate with young Canadians: it’s Toronto native, aspirational but not unattainable and has credibility through its fashion week presence.
Furthermore, the ‘drop’ sales model, made popular in the mid-2010s by streetwear brands like Supreme and Palace, is a language the internet generation intuitively understands. Time-sensitive product launches create a certain kind of hype around a brand that helps it spread on social media and generate media coverage. Keeping numbers limited speaks to a community that prizes exclusivity and status and activates the scarcity bias (the increased desire for something the less available it is). As OLG’s VP lottery and customer services puts it: ‘With its short-term nature, edgy creative, and exclusive fashion, this Lotto Max campaign with Mr. Saturday appeals to [young adults’] affinity for fashion and exclusivity.’
In it to win it / For the lucky fashion fans who got their hands on the collection, their interaction with Lotto Max doesn’t end with the sale. The year’s worth of lottery tickets is redeemable as a voucher, meaning that the recipient has to physically enter their numbers each week in order to play. This might function as an entry point for a small number of players and act as the catalyst for a more long-term habit. The clothes will exist in wardrobes long after the tickets run out, and so, similarly to Danish Lotto’s Lotto Christmas Collection (a set of novelty gifts decorated with lottery numbers), the campaign brings the brand into consumers’ homes and creates a lasting visual reminder to play the lottery.
