18 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MAY/JUNE 2022 Iwant to share with you the wonderful story of the historymaking Christmas Lottery, whose first draw was held in Cádiz in southern Spain in 1812. Over these last 210 years, the Christmas Lottery has come to represent much more than an exciting draw game. It has become a tradition that is a part of Spanish society and culture, an event that we associate with the special moments and historical events of our lives. For this reason, we say that the Christmas Lottery belongs to the Spanish society. So, let’s please try CHRISTMAS LOTTERY DRAW: A STORY OF MAGIC AND HUMAN VALUES PGRI INTRODUCTION: I would like to thank María Núñez from SELAE for turning her wonderful presentation into a wonderful article that we can share with our readers. Ms. Núñez’ presentation was part of the EL/WLA Marketing Video-Seminar on February 2 and 3 of this year. Visit websites european-lotteries.org and world-lotteries.org to see the educational seminars, informational resources, and services offered by the European Lotteries (EL) and the World Lottery Association (WLA). Visit european-lotteries.org to view Ms. Núñez’ presentation. That is highly recommended as the TV commercials provide a special insight into the true meaning of the Spanish Christmas Lottery. María’s presentation followed Ray Bates’ whirlwind exposition celebrating the last twenty years of lottery marketing, with a serious look at the underlying changes to the way brands are connecting with their audience. Probably more casual than planned as an introduction to Ms. Núñez’ presentation, Ray used some TV commercials of the Spanish Christmas Lottery to illustrate the shift from feature/ benefit advertising towards human values and emotion-based communication – and how to capture the hearts and minds of a world in search of meaning and purpose. And what could be more representative of that shift than the Spanish Christmas Lottery. After all, it’s not just a draw game – it is truly a social phenomenon. It’s an extraordinary story about an extraordinary brand. And Ms. Núñez tells it beautifully. The Spanish Christmas Lottery (officially Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad or popularly known as Lotería de Navidad) is the most special draw of the Lotería Nacional, the weekly national lottery run by Spain’s state-owned Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (SELAE). The special Christmas draw takes place every December 22 and it is the biggest and most popular draw game of the year. Lotería Nacional, with its first draw held on 4 March 1812, is the second-longest continuously running lottery in the world. Though other national lotteries have bigger individual top prizes, Spain's "El Gordo" is ranked as the world's richest lottery in total prize money. The literal meaning of El Gordo is “The Fat” or “The Fat One,” which is the Spanish shortcut for saying first prize. María Núñez, Journalist, Press & Communications Secretary, SELAE (Spanish Lottery) https://www.loteriasyapuestas.es/en View Video of TV Commercial at: https://youtu.be/8UVPu139mr0
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