Powerball’s playful jackpot advertising gets a new lease on life with McCann New Zealand

Powerball’s iconic ‘tittle’ characters are getting a glow up, with richer detail, more imaginative storytelling and smarter production capability, giving them new ways to bring Kiwi imagination to life.

While the “tittles” may technically be the term for the dots above a lower-case I, for Powerball, the two yellow dots on the word “Million” have become playful characters that serve as a light-hearted Kiwi-flavoured reminder of the Powerball prize each draw.

First created in 2019, the tittles went through a major refresh in 2022, becoming 3D characters with arms, legs and big personalities. Since then, they have become synonymous with Powerball’s creative identity, representing the imagination of everyday Kiwis who play Powerball.

Now Lotto New Zealand and McCann New Zealand are taking the campaign into its next chapter.

The refreshed characters, once again created with animation house Flux, open up a richer creative world, with new expressions, more detail and deeper storylines. Behind the scenes, McCann has also extended the campaign’s dynamic capability, allowing assets to be adapted more efficiently across formats, audiences and channels while maintaining brand consistency and creative quality.

Leah Neilson, Chief Marketing Officer at Lotto New Zealand, said Powerball was a continuing focus for Lotto and the refresh was about building on an established creative platform while keeping it fresh, relevant and fit-for-channel: “With Lotto, Powerball and Strike representing the majority of Lotto NZ revenue, Powerball continues to be a key focus for us so it’s important that the creative platform remains fresh, recognisable and effective across an increasingly complex media landscape.

“The tittles have become a huge part of the Powerball world, so we wanted to make sure we built on what Kiwis already know and love.

“The campaign is about imagining what could be possible and this evolution gives us more ways to bring that idea to life. It gives the creative more flexibility to feel timely and relevant to what’s happening around Kiwis.”

McCann New Zealand’s Creative Director, Sarah Shepherd, said the new work gives the tittles more room to play, with broader scenarios and more imaginative storytelling: “We’ve developed new stories and scenarios for them, with more detail and personality in the way they move, behave and interact with their world.

“Alongside this, we’ve taken some of those beautiful imaginative scenes beyond AV, extending them across the wider campaign and inspiring more people in more places to imagine.”

McCann New Zealand’s Technical Director, Andrew Jackson, said the work showcases the agency’s proprietary Content at Scale offering, which brings human creativity and smart technology together to help brands deliver consistent, high-quality work across complex channel ecosystems: “This is a great example of bringing human creativity and smart technology together.”

“For Powerball, we brought the creative assets into OMNI Generator, enabling us to tailor and scale the campaign across more channels while maintaining consistency and accuracy,” he said. “It gives us flexibility while keeping the craft and creativity at the heart of the work.

“We’re looking forward to continuing to build on the platform and what new data signals could unlock in the future.”

The new work launched this week to support Powerball’s latest game changes, with the fully integrated campaign rolling out across TV, social, digital, out-of-home, radio, direct and in-store channels.

Client: Lotto New Zealand
Leah Neilson: Chief Marketing Officer
Genna Duff: Head of Brand
Caitlin Kooyman: Senior Marketing Manager
Annabel Freer: Brand Manager

Agency:  McCann New Zealand
Production Company: Flux Animation Studio
Media Agency: PHD New Zealand

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