2021 Winner

Loto-Québec launched its very frst lottery, the Loterie Mensuelle, in 1970 – the same year Quebec’s most-trusted news anchor, Bernard Derome, started his career. So to mark its 50th anniversary in 2020, the provincial lottery brought back Derome using deep-fake technology.

The goal was to drive relevance among a younger generation, without overlooking Loto-Québec’s ties to its older, everyday customers. Sid Lee used advanced technology and hundreds of hours of machine learning to recreate Derome’s face using an actor with similar features (and Derome’s real voice).

The making-of video broke viewing records on the Loto-Québec Facebook page and got real news outlets to engage with the story of the fake newscaster, generating buzz that lasted nearly three months. The campaign reached more than 31 million people and boosted sales of the Loterie Mensuelle by 129%.

Credits

Client : Loto-Québec
Director of Integrated Marketing Communication : Janie Thériault
Senior Project Manager - Advertising : Andréa Batista
Project Manager - Advertising : Annie Woang

Agence de création : SID LEE
Account Director : Veronique Proulx
Account Executive : Charles-Ely Legris
Executive Creative Director : Alex Bernier
Creative Director : Christopher Jones
Copywriter : Nicolas Labbé
Art Director : Pascal Tremblay
Creative Technologist : Julien Roub Charland
Lead Producer : Marie-Christine Toupin
Production Coordinator : Jessica Afonso
Technical Lead, Post-Production : Benjamin Des Rosiers
Video Editor : Myriam St-Aubin
Assistant Editor : Sonya Nadon
Creative Director, Motion Design : Olivier Valiquette
Motion Designer : Isabelle Vouligny
Director : Julien Hurteau
Director of Photography : Marc Simpson-Threlford
Art Director : Alexis Johnston
VFX Artist : Simon Beaupré
Vice President - Creative Strategy : Elisabeth Jamot
Strategy Analyst : Sophie Gibeault

Maison de post-production : MELS

Sound studio: Studio Lamajeure
Co-General Manager / Sound Hacker : Mathieu Morin