Waiting in line for lottery tickets is hardly a moving experience—unless it’s for the Minnesota Lottery, which grooves to its own unique beat.
This :30, out of Minneapolis agency Foley Sackett, opens on a line of about 10 people standing at the counter of a typical convenience store. The line snakes forward as the rhythmic churning of the on-line lottery machine prints tickets. The camera cuts to a close-up of a businessman tapping a newspaper against his hand in time with the humming lottery machine. Others simply nod their heads or sway their bodies in step with the sound of tickets being printed. The store clerk issuing tickets develops a similar working rhythm.
Slowly, the line starts to move together in a more choreographed fashion as the lottery machine sounds more and more like a funky groove track. Some of the customers’ moves are almost celebratory, as if they’ve already cashed the winning ticket.
One person standing in line, though, isn’t part of the cadence. After looking curiously at the proceedings, he finally reaches the clerk at the front of the line and comments: "That’s different." A second store employee replies matter-of-factly: "It happens every day."
The spot ends with a shot of a lottery ticket emerging from a machine, accompanied by a voiceover reminding us, "Don’t forget to have some fun."
"On Line Dance" was directed by Joe Schaak via Twist, Minneapolis. (Schaak is repped nationally by Santa Monica production house Trail Head. Twist continues to handle him in the Minnesota market.) Schaak’s support team at Twist included executive producer Jim Geib and producer David Bellmont. DP Jim Zabilla shot the spot on location at a food market in St. Paul, Minn.
Foley Sackett’s ensemble consisted of creative director Ron Sackett, copywriter Johnny Mackin, art director Joan Meath and producer Wendy Johnson-Ness.
The ad was edited by Tony Fischer of Fischer Edit, Minneapolis. Sue Lakso of Crash & Sue’s, Minneapolis, was the colorist.
Music was composed by Thomas P. Lecher, president of Echo Boys, Minneapolis. Audio mixer was Carl White of Echo Boys.
