Dogs get lucky in new lottery campaign

SLIDESHOW: Filming the Va. Lottery's Lucky Dog commercial

The Virginia Lottery is going to the dogs, so to speak.

But these dogs are some lucky dogs.

The lottery's latest marketing campaign includes television spots featuring three charmed canines. Among them is Duke, a massive Blue Merle Great Dane whose good fortune is having the primo space in his owners' bed, right between mom and dad.

Duke's commercial and three others were being filmed yesterday in Henrico County. They are scheduled to start airing April 14, when the lottery kicks off its newest scratcher game, the Virginia's Lucky Dog game.

The lottery offers about 40 to 50 scratcher games every year, some targeted at specific audiences, but only a few are promoted through advertising campaigns. The lottery's Bass Pro Shops scratcher game, which kicked off in February, was aimed at luring new players among fishing and wildlife enthusiasts and has been wildly successful, lottery officials said.

The new one, of course, is aimed at sniffing out dog lovers.

"One of our philosophies is to always look for ways to attract new players," said Paula Otto, the Virginia Lottery's executive director. "The number of people who love their dogs and spend money on their dogs is huge. We're playing on that love for dogs."

The first round of $2 Lucky Dog game tickets will feature photos of dogs owned by Virginia Lottery employees, including one dog actually named Lucky. Prizes will go up to $10,000.

But the lottery is throwing another bone to dog lovers: a chance at fame for their four-legged friends. Starting April 14, the lottery's Web site, http://www.valottery.com, will include a virtual dog park where people can post pictures of their own pets. Ten dogs will be selected to have their portraits on future Virginia's Lucky Dog game tickets. No people are allowed in the photos, which must be uploaded by May 26, lottery officials said.

Otto said yesterday that Virginia Lottery sales are down about 5 percent so far this fiscal year.

"We anticipated that," she said. The decline is because of several factors, she said, including the weak economy, high gas prices, and North Carolina's new lottery, which has siphoned some sales from Virginia.

If projections hold up, the Virginia Lottery will bring in about $430 million in profit this fiscal year, down from $455 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2008. Lottery profits in Virginia go to support public schools.

In addition to Duke, the Great Dane owned by Shelley Miller of Pennsylvania, the three lottery commercials will feature Peaches, a golden retriever who has the good fortune to live near a tennis court, and Princess, a pit bull/springer-spaniel mix who has some extraordinary luck with table scraps.

Peaches and Princess are owned by Miriam Fields-Babineau, an animal trainer from Amherst.

"Both of these dogs are very experienced animal actresses," said Fields-Babineau, at yesterday's shoot. Their work has included other commercials and brief appearances in the 2005 feature film "War of the Worlds."

Contact John Reid Blackwell at (804) 775-8123 or .