We created a campaign to create awareness on the second-in-a-week loto draw despite the prohibition to advertise for gambling in Mauritius.

Advertising for gambling has been banned since 2015. Companies dealing with gambling are now confined to communiques which are obviously less attractive to the audience. In 2018, Lottotech launched its second-in-a-week draw which was to be on every Wednesday.

If one cannot advertise for a gambling event, one can still advertise about the day of the event, and this was our big idea: create the buzz around Wednesday. Nothing special happens on that day. People do not even talk about it was propitious to make it become special.

It started with some anonymous people claiming to “get back their Wednesday”. Banners were placed on handrails, fake tags on walls. Strikes were organized. A Facebook page called “Nou mercredi” was created. Videos showing the leader of this group claiming to “give us back our Wednesday” were regularly posted there. All these happenings were published in the media not as advertising but as ‘breaking news’. People were asking: “What is there to claim about a day in the middle of the week?”

Finally, when Lottotech announced its second-in-a-week draw, it appeared like an answer to the strikers’ request. Wednesday became a special day. A day where you remember to play Loto.