SMUGGLER director Tom Hooper’s latest work for the National Lottery, out of adam&eveDDB, London, will have you believing in Christmas miracles. In this three-minute-plus spot titled “Christmas Love Story,” Hooper delivers an astounding tale of a chance meeting in a crowded train car. As two people return home to spend the holidays with their families, they unexpectedly strike up a conversation and from there, the love story begins. 

Hooper doesn’t just deliver a believable story, he delivers one of uncertainty and questioning. We don’t always win, but if we did, just imagine we could win it all. As the train doors begin to close, the man quickly jots down his number on a lottery ticket and slides it through the open window. Unfortunately, it lands in a puddle, smudging the ink. The woman desperately dials all the numerical combinations she can think of, but much like the lottery, her chances are low. Hooper begs the question, what are the odds of finding your soulmate in a city, country of millions? In this inspiring piece, we are reminded to take that chance, and maybe, just maybe, we could win it all.

The ad is set to a new arrangement of George Michael’s “Faith,” performed by artist Sleeping At Last. The full length commercial is being screened in cinemas, with cutdowns appearing online and on TV.

The ad brings Tom Hooper, director of The King’s Speech and Les Misérables, and the National Lottery full circle – as the film for which he won his best director Oscar, The King’s Speech, received National Lottery Good Cause funding through the British Film Institute.

Ben Tollett, group executive creative director, adam&eveDDB, said: “At a time when the nation needs some magic in the air, we wanted to create a larger than life story about the lottery and true love–two games of chance that make the perfect subject for a Christmas romantic comedy.”

Credits

Client National Lottery  Agency adam&eveDDB Ben Tollett, group executive creative director; Richard Brim, chief creative officer; Jay Parekh, Forrest Clancy, creatives; Nikki Cramphorn, Tristan Baker, producers; Scott Silvey, designer. Production SMUGGLER Tom Hooper, director; Steve Annis, DP; Fergus Brown, Brian Carmody, Patrick Milling-Smith, exec producers; Sara Wallace, Nick Sutherland-Dodd, producers; John Stevenson, production designer; Emma Field Rayner, set decorator; Sarah Blenkinsop, wardrobe stylist; Loz Schiavo, hair/makeup artist. Editorial The Whitehouse Russell Icke, editor; Steve Waltham, editor asst. Postproduction/VFX Framestore Alexia Paterson, post producer; Pedro Sabrosa, VFX supervisor; Ben Taylor, 2D supervisor. Color Company 3 Simon Bourne, colorist. Music George Michael, writer/composer; arranged & performed by Sleeping At Last; Chris White, additional orchestration; produced by supervised by Sian Rogers at SIREN; Music Alternatives, label; Warner/Chappell, publisher. Audio Post 750mph Sam Ashwell, mixer.

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