The New York Lottery Is All About the Benjamin Franklins

This particular founding father is so money

You can never have too many Benjamins. To that end, McCann’s goofy spot below for the New York Lottery shows dozens of Ben Franklins on the loose to impressive comic effect.

No jokes about Poor Richard, please.

The concept seeks to illustrate the notion of multiplying one’s winnings (up to 200x) in an especially memorable way. Befitting lottery marketing, It’s silly but not stupid, making its point with plenty of portly, patriotic eye candy.

“Watching a room full of older gentlemen banter with each other in 1700s English during auditions was hilarious,” McCann associate creative director Julia Waicberg tells Muse. “All 11 Benjamins we cast are local New York actors with incredible improv skills.”

“We only had the budget for a single shoot day. But we knew the spot would be at its best if we filmed across multiple locations with our winner and her Benjamins,” adds Sam Aldenborgh, also an ACD. “So we spent 14 hours running all over Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, trying to squeeze in as many setups as possible.

“And because there was a massive cluster of Benjamin Franklins roaming the streets, people, especially kids, kept stopping us, asking what was going on and to take photos with the Benjamins.”

Directed by Jess Coulter, the work breaks this week across TV and digital platforms.