This award-winning tv spot from the Washington State Lottery Commission just started reappearing (it first aired last Spring and then vanished) I have to admit it’s a great ad – puts a smile on my face everytime – especially that little penguin instinctively flapping his stubby wings (flippers when he’s swimming in his natural environment).
The Lottery Commission put a few bucks into the ad. It’s not like some middle-aged hang-glider just wandered in with the video and wondered if anyone wanted to use it. The ad is a joint effort of Publicis West, Sticks+Stones Studios and FisherEdit/Fisher FX. The birds were never more than a few feet off the ground, filmed in front of a green screen. (No birds were hurt or scared shitless filming this ad.)
The ad is supposed to make you realize all the crazy/wonderful things you can do (for less fortunates) if you win a bundle of money playing the lottery. If there was surge in lottery sales this year, it probably has less to do with the ad and more to do with tough economic times - which tend to increase gambling dollars spent close to home.
Subtext should include the fact that you have about as much chance of winning the lottery as the poor emu has of flying (with or without a hang-glider).
Washington State lottery dollars are distributed at approximately this split: 61% to winners; 20% to school construction (the best thing); 15% administrative & sales costs; 2.5% to sports stadiums; .06 % to economic development; .05% to address problem gambling.
Washington State is a big gambling state. The Washington State government profits from many gambling venues: partnering on some, regulating some, totally directing others and accepting large sums of lobbying dollars. The venues include the lottery, private card rooms, pull tabs, a large number of Indian casinos; and para-mutual (horse race) wagering.
Ironically (and ostensibly to save us all from ourselves), the Washington legislature has made playing online poker in the privacy of your own home a felony (on a par with sexual assault and distribution of pornography). The law was passed rapidly, fueled by incidents of teenagers running up huge credit card debt at online poker sites and with the help of large sums of lobbying dollars from Indian casinos.
Teenagers running up huge online gambling debts is a parenting problem, not an online gambling problem. When online poker was legal, one could play for as little as 5 or 10 cents per wager – a fun option for people who want to play poker without investing a lot of money. Minimums at brick-and-mortar casinos run between $3 and $5 per wager with $100 minimum buy-ins for poker games. Poker involves skill – it’s not a blind game of chance – like lotteries. Minimum purchase price for any of the multitude of available Washington lottery games is $1.00 per ticket. What’s wrong with this picture?
Like the UIEGA, the Washington State legislation falls back on the idea that online poker players risk being cheated by unregulated off-shore sites. There have been incidents of cheating and intentional fraud, but overall, the online poker community has self-regulated. Like other online networks, online poker players spread the word fast – sites that allow cheating or intentionally defraud fade fast.
Cute flying fowl commercials don’t erase the hypocrisy of this “protectionist” legislation. The reality is this: Washington’s government encourages you to gamble – but not unless they get their rake from the pot.
