Thank YOU, New York Lottery

Have you seen the latest New York Lottery commercial? In case you've missed it, take a look. Then we'll talk.



OK. Did you hear the voice-over, or were you captivated by the happy-go-lucky singing and dancing children? The moving walls of cereal that opened up to the angelic chorus?  Did you notice the sparkling clean, no-beer-or-tobacco-in-sight store? Or just the happy-go-lucky singing and dancing kids?

Here's what the voice-over says:

Every time you play a New York Lottery game a portion of the sale goes to aid New York school children just like them.  New York Lottery.  Everybody wins. 

I know when we started the NY Lottery back in the 60s there was a promise of  huge riches for education in the Empire State.  That was the selling point and is, today, still the mission of the Lottery.

The New York Lottery's sole mission is to earn revenue for education. Fundamentally, the Lottery is run as an entertainment business. A dedicated team of some 350 New York Lottery employees work with business partners and more than 17,000 retailers statewide to provide innovative, fun, and entertaining games for our customers. 

Sadly, it appears that we New Yorkers have forgotten the mission, enough so that the Lottery felt the need to come up with the ad campaign, a contest for schools to have kids singing the Thank You song for a chance to win funding for music programs, and in the process try make it look like the places where you can buy lottery tickets are all bright, happy, safe and wholesome stores -- the kind of places you'd love to have your kids hang out and sing.

According to the Lottery's acting director Gardner Gurney,

(they) wanted to spread the word of the New York's Lottery's commitment to our mission for education, and what better way to do that than with students thanking New Yorkers who help support their education through the purchase of lottery tickets.  

What better way to do that?

I think it would be hard to come up with  a worse way than exploiting kids by having then literally sing for their supper, er I mean lottery dollars. Ironically, during National Problem Gambling Awareness Month.

Thanks, New York Lottery.