The Spanish Lottery: Danielle

In 2015, the undisputed winner of the Christmas ad crown was Justino, Leo Burnett Madrid's charming (and subsequently multi-award-winning) animation for Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, Spain's state lottery.

Fast-forward two years and the Spanish agency has once again pulled out all the stops with an out-of-this-world short film about a beautiful alien who finds love on Earth thanks to El Gordo ("the Fat One"), the annual Christmas draw.

Oscar-winning director Alejandro Amenábar (The Others; The Sea Inside) brings some serious star power to Danielle, which clocks in at a whopping 20 minutes for the full-length version, released online today, with a TV cut-down to follow.   

Continuing the celestial theme, the campaign also includes an online activation inspired by the lottery's unique system in which groups of people can share a number and win together. Spaniards will also be able to connect with players who share their same number online at danielleydaniel.com by forming 'constellations' of stars which represent their numbers.