Illinois Lottery: Full of Winners

The Illinois Lottery pays tribute to the winning spirit of the people of the State of Illinois, through the story of a family and how they face the trials of everyday life when the mother in the family cannot go home. The spot was created by the Lottery's creative agency, O'Keefe Reinhard & Paul and was brought to life by Chicago director Simon Reinert whose wife Shifra, is a nurse at Northwestern Hospital in downtown Chicago and is featured in the ad. In developing the new work, OKRP group creative director Aubrey Walker was inspired by the story and music behind The Wiz and the search for home. He was thinking about the many healthcare workers who are self-separating from their families and not able to go home, and he thought that showing the sacrifice through one woman’s experience was also a way to reveal the ethos of what it really means to be a winner. The team at OKRP knew there were challenges for a shoot amid the limitations of the coronavirus pandemic and sought out a local director.