The Brief

The National Lottery needed a campaign that would celebrate grassroots football while reinforcing its long-standing commitment to funding community sport across the UK.

The challenge was to create work that felt:

• Emotionally authentic
• Culturally relevant to women's grassroots football
• Scalable across broadcast, digital and social platforms

The Creative Idea

We developed a campaign that focused on the communities which celebrate grassroots football, spotlighting upcoming stars as well as Lioness legend Jill Scott to lead the charge. Building a story that feels authentic, whilst spotlighting the passion, diversity and skill of grassroots football.

The creative approached focused on:

• A true pledge to support a worthy cause
• Cinematic visual storytelling
• Letting a grassroots football legend help pave the way

The goal was to make the National Lottery feel like a quiet enabler, not the hero — supporting the game from the sidelines.

My Role

As Creative Art Director, I:

• Led the creative concept and visual direction from initial briefing through to delivery
• Shaped the narrative and tone of the campaign across all formats
• Designed the branding, visual assets and animated assets needed
• Fed into the creative direction on shoot days and worked closely with production to capture authentic performances and moments
• Collaborated with producers, editors and stakeholders to ensure consistency across broadcast, digital and social executions
• Oversaw post-production to maintain creative integrity and clarity of message

Impact

• Broadcast and digital rollout across multiple platforms
• Campaign recognised within the industry, including a GEMA Awards nomination (2025)
• Reinforced The National Lottery's positioning as a key supporter of grassroots football and community sport

Credits:

Director: Paul Quinn

Producer: Ella Sanderson

Production Company: ITV Creative

Creative Director: Alex (Charles) Mathieson

Creative: Jonathan Clarke-Ezzidio

Senior Account Director: Andrew Samuels

Production Manager: Brendan Barry

Production Co-ordinator: Laurie Blayney

Cinematographer: Richard Bell ACS

Steadicam: Ben Eeley

Movi: Joe Ransom

Focus Puller: Samuel Hyde

2nd Camera Assistant: Natasha O’ Neill

Camera Trainee: Kimberley Holmes

Drone Operator: Jack Coulthard-Little1st

AD: James Dyer

2nd AD: Jessica Horne

Runners: Becky Dyer, Camden Roque, Laurent Durham & Georgia Brown

Gaffer: Jeff Celis

Sparks: Jack Middleton, Cristian Trujillo Celis, Amir Moulfi & Lalo Finlay

DIT: Alix Milan

Playback: Tom Cliffe

DIT/ Playback Assistant: Adam Jasinski

Sound Recordist: Nick Robertson

Boom Operator: Grace Robertson

Art Director: Mikey Hollywood

Art Stylist: Carine Lacroix

Props Master: Lester Hill

Props Assistants: Will Olds & Theo Zeal

Stylist: Patrick Jack Whelan

Assistant Stylists: Nicole Daly & Savannah JonesHair

Make-up Stylist: Beverley Pond-JonesHair

Make-up Assistants: Charlotte Bligh & Lucy Alcock

Sports Choreographer: Tyson White

Choreographer’s Assistant: Daniel Edwards

Location Manager: John Alflatt

Colourist: Jax Harney

Sound Designer: Mark W.

Storyboards: Ashwin Kumar

2d Motion & VFX: Alex Perez