The National Lottery has defended its decision to adapt an eight-year-old New Zealand originated TV ad for the Irish market.
Last week Folk VML and the National Lottery launched a brand-new Irish campaign called “Heist” which prompted some discussion within the Irish advertising industry due to the numerous similarities between it and a similar campaign- called “Armoured Truck”- created by DDB in New Zealand in 2018.
While the Irish version features local actors, locations and production partners, many within the advertising community have noted the close similarities between the two executions, sparking debate about whether one of Ireland’s most high-profile advertisers should have commissioned an original creative concept instead.
Responding to questions from Adworld.ie, the National Lottery said the campaign was a deliberate adaptation of an existing piece of work and formed part of the sharing of ideas and best practice between lottery organisations internationally.
“The National Lottery has a long history of working with many of Ireland’s leading agencies, directors and production companies, and of investing in Irish creative development,” the company said in a statement.
“The recently launched ‘Heist’ campaign is an Irish adaptation of original Lotto NZ work by DDB Aotearoa, developed for the National Lottery with our agency partners and produced locally by Stink.
“As part of the wider World Lottery Association network, the National Lottery, alongside other lottery organisations, regularly shares ideas and best practice across markets.
“In this instance, the creative platform was a good fit for Irish audiences and our current brand direction.
“The campaign was adapted for the Irish market with local creative and production partners, and we remain committed to supporting original Irish creative work and the broader Irish creative and production community,” the statement added.
While Folk VML declined to comment, Anne Mulcahy, chief marketing officer of the National Lottery, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to investing in Irish creativity while also drawing on successful ideas from international markets where appropriate.
“The National Lottery is proud of its long-standing record of investing in ambitious Irish creativity,” she said.
“In this case, we saw an opportunity to bring a strong idea to Irish audiences in a way that was locally produced, culturally relevant and aligned with our brand platform.
“We are also grateful to Folk for the work they did in adapting the campaign for the Irish market, and for the creativity and care they brought to that process, alongside our wider production partners.”
In recent days, the campaign has prompted some debate in Irish agency circles, not over intellectual property or legal issues, but over what the decision says about “the value placed on original creative development in Ireland,” as one agency CEO put it.
Against this, however, supporters of the Lottery’s approach argue that adapting proven creative work is common practice throughout the global advertising industry and that consumers are largely indifferent to where an idea originates, provided it is engaging and effective.
Others argue that companies and their brands with the scale, resources and creative heritage of the National Lottery are important to the indigenous creative industry, even more so at a time when some Irish brands have already chosen UK agencies to handle the bulk of their creative work.
For some, the “Heist” campaign represents a sensible adaptation of a proven idea. For others, it raises questions about whether Ireland’s creative industry is being given sufficient opportunities to develop the next generation of original advertising ideas given the number of high-profile Irish brands have chosen to work with creative agencies outside of Ireland.
