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Saatchi & Saatchi; commercial artist; c. 1997
Overview
This bespoke promotional aloha shirt was made around 1997 as part of a Lotto campaign identified by the catch-phrase 'What would you do if you won this Saturday?'
One of the many typical answers to this question, would be to take a 'dream holiday' as the shirt itself implies. For the campaign, the New Zealand Lotteries Commission's advertising agency, Saachi & Saachi, exploited the symbolism of the aloha shirt, which historically has been used to represent a romanticised vision of Hawai'i as a sun-filled paradise.
The New Zealand Lotteries Commission was established in June 1987, following legislation passed by the New Zealand Cabinet in 1986. The first Lotto draw, which was hosted by radio presenter Doug Harvey and dancer Ann Wilson, alongside an automated, tamper-proof number picker called 'Tulipe', took place on 1 August 1987. In 1997, the Lotto draw still took place, live on television, on Saturday night.
At the end of the 1987/88 year, the Lotteries Commission reported a total sales revenue of $248.5 million. By the year ended June 1998, the period that this shirt was made, their total revenue had grown to $638.7 million. In 1987/88 the Lotteries Commission distributed $26.8 million to community groups. By 1997/98 this had increased to $137 million.
Lotto remains a popular and socially acceptable form of gambling in New Zealand.