If John Lewis’ man-on-the-moon sop fest and Sainsbury’s Mog mischief haven’t left you dehydrated with all the tears shed this Christmas advertising season, then you might well enjoy the Spanish National Lottery’s tug at seasonal heartstrings.
In November and December every year, Spaniards begin to go crazy for the ‘the fat one’, el Gordo, an annual bumper-sized lottery that sees people queuing for hours to get tickets for the massive Christmas jackpot. With the total value of prizes valued at more than €2.2bn, el Gordo is officially recognised as the globe’s biggest lottery prize.
Over the last few years, much like the British retailing giants, the Spanish National Lottery has ramped up the Christmas advert, and last year featured Irish singer James Vincent McMorrow in the soundtrack.
This year, the animated short, almost entirely voiceless and in the style of Pixar, features Justino, a lonely night watchman at a mannequin factory. Spending all of the night shifts alone, his only company is the factory’s dummies, and in his loneliness, he starts using the mannequins to leave messages for the daytime colleagues he never gets to meet.
You can watch the advert below:
Produced by advertising agency Leo Burnett, Justino’s adventures have already gone viral in Spain, where the advert has been a huge hit. The hashtag #Justino has been amongst the top trending topics in Spain since Monday.
"They say that the key to a good story is to have a good protagonist who has a particular goal, which they fail to achieve, so that the reader or viewer roots for the main character to get their wish in the end," Juan García Escudero, creative director of Leo Burnett, explained during the launch of the campaign.
