The holidays are a special time for the New York Lottery. It’s the time of year when there’s something special in the air—when anything seems possible, including winning. To announce this year’s seasonal Scratch-Off Games, the New York Lottery and McCann New York enlisted a group of woodland animals to deliver a little holiday magic to an enchanting wildlife reserve in a film titled, “Special Delivery.”
The story begins as a beloved park ranger loses her Scratch-Off on her way home for the holidays. But luckily for our ranger, her animal friends are at the ready. A rabbit rescues the ticket and works together with a few other furry friends. Together, they make their way through a snowy winter landscape to ensure the ticket ends up right where it belongs. Their heart-warming holiday journey was directed by Ben Smith of The Mill.
Credits
Client New York Lottery Agency McCann New York Eric Silver, North American chief creative officer; Sean Bryan, Tom Murphy, chief creative officers, NY; Mat Bisher, executive creative director; Jason Ashlock, Dominick Baccollo, group creative directors; Colby Spear, sr. writer; Pedro Sampaio, sr. art director; Nathy Aviram, chief production officer; Tamara Lecker, sr. producer; Eric Johnson, SVP, executive music producer; Dan Gross, integrated music producer; Laura Frank, SVP, group strategy director. Production/VFX Ben Smith, creative director/director; Zu Al-Kadiri, exec producer; Hillary Thomas, producer; Georgina Castle, production supervisor; Emily Stave, Esther Montgomery, production coordinators; Ryan McKenna, editor; Goutham H, Utkarsha Shinde, production support; Ed Boldero, shoot supervisor, 3D lead artist; Alek Vacura, shoot supervisor; Alex Clark, 2nd unit director, and design; Tim Crabtree, 2D lead artist; Katie Yancy, animation lead; Roxy Zuckerman, Daniel Thuresson, Dag Ivarsoy, Abby Riegel, Rakesh Venugopalan, Evan Langley, Renjith Raveendran, Prajeesh Chaliyam, Basabendu Sarkar, Sandeep Kumar Singh, Yogesh Sarwa, Jiten Harkhani, Vinod Gopinathan, 2D artists; Matthew Choy, Jeremy Ramirez, Sophie Quagebeur, Daniel Stern, Danny Garcia, Ryan Federman, Elizabeth Hammer, Lalida Karnjanasirirat, Victor Duncan, 3D artists; Rasha Shalaby, Gillian George, Bill Lu, Andy Wheater, matte painting; Jacob Bergman, Justin Tirado, Randy Link, John Fielding, Gustavo Gonzalez, Melik Malkasian, Matt Connolly; animation; Joakim Ekstrom, motion graphics; Kevin Diaz, Valerie Chernysh, art dept. Color The Mill Matt Osborne, colorist; Dee Allen, group color director; Blake Rice, associate color producer; Jessica Amburgey, production coordinator, color; Brandon Phillis, color assist.
The Ad Council, partnering with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and AdoptUSKids, launched a public service campaign, created pro bono by Edelman, which aims to inspire prospective parents to consider adopting a teen from foster care.
This centerpiece PSA titled “The Rewards”--directed by The Hudson Dusters (Michael Kuhn and Niles Roth) via Greenpoint Pictures--spotlights real adoptive families who have personally experienced the mutual benefits of adoption. This longer form PSA (and cutdown versions) begins with a touching display of openness and vulnerability as adoptive parents reflect on their adoption journeys and their initial questions and hesitations about adopting a teen. Then, in a deeply emotional turn, the adoptive parents witness their children recounting the profound rewards of adoption in their lives. The teens speak of the love they share with their parents and how the decision to become a family is reciprocal. The campaign directs viewers to the AdoptUSKids website to learn more about adopting a teen from foster care.
