Dept. Of What A Great Gift: PA Lottery Makes Shot-For-Shot Remake Of Commercial They’ve Been Airing For 20 Years
There’s been a lot of talk here on the site and around Philebs HQ as of late about what constitutes the official start of the Christmas season. Is it Black Friday? Is it when our esteemed editor plugs in his USB Christmas tree on his desk? Is it when the radio becomes fully overrun with the Kenny Rodgers/Wynonna Judd classic “Mary Did You Know?” The true answer is totally up in the air, but the closest thing we can really find to an official start of it all is when the PA Lottery starts airing the 12 Days of Christmas ad.
The ad, which has been airing since 1992, is etched onto the brain of many a Philadelphian. For most of us, the commercial’s entire script could be recited alongside its airing, and it became a fun little game to see what new scratch-off games they shoehorned into the song to replace every game except the ever-present Cash Five. But NO LONGER, faithful Philadelphians. The whole commercial was re-made in Fairmount Park this October, nearly shot for shot, so it can be updated for widescreen and HD televisions.
It is no longer the same Joe and Rita, and in fact, the Joe/Rita exchange in the remake seems … well … kinda creepy. Plus, mustachioed newsstand man is no longer mustachioed. We understand that you gotta come up to the standards of technology for most things, but couldn’t this have just been left alone? Just this one thing? IS NOTHING SACRED?
