Hope is a powerful tool, and you can consume it for a pound a week. Figures announced this week show national lottery sales have gone up 20% in a year. Considering we are in economic hard times, with return to recession in a so called “double dip”, why are people spending what little money they have on a quick gamble?
I believe it is because the thing that many of us turn to in our darkest hours, Hope. Hope is now not only cheep to buy, but it lasts. If you time your lottery ticket purchase just right, you can spend all week holding out with a little expectation that you will be the next big winner. It’s cheeper than a pint of beer, and most people except a £1 a week on the national lottery is not a gateway drug to a more serious addiction to gambling. It is certainly more socially acceptable than other vices that people turn to in hard times, drugs, alcohol, cheesy pop music.
What would a marketer, make of this potent product called hope, could we see banners up and down the highways and byways stating “Buy Hope, it will get you though!” or “Hope, it’s cheep at half the price”. Perhaps the ultimate lost leader “Hope, it’s free and its good for you”, small print, “can cause delusions that could negatively affect the outcome of your existence”.
Cynical, perhaps, but all said and done, i’m all for hope dear readers and I hope you are too! Go on, go mad with audacity and buy a bit of hope today!
