The National Lottery’s 30th Birthday It’s a Game Changer campaign reached its crescendo last week with the announcement that £50bn has been raised for Good Causes since 1994. The transformative impact of that number on UK national life and culture was laid bare in a striking photography exhibition, hosted at the National Portrait Gallery, highlighting 30 iconic moments in UK history that would not have happened without National Lottery funding.
Actors Michael Sheen and Vicky McClure, heritage champion Tony Robinson, Lioness Chloe Kelly and Olympians Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Max Whitlock are among those who have Moments featured in the exhibition and were engaged to represent The National Lottery in film, media and online throughout the week.
It’s a Game Changer was the brainchild of a collaboration between Lansons and krow. The consortium was appointed to all three campaign LOTS by the National Lottery Promotions Unit and National Lottery operator, Allwyn UK, this time last year.
Throughout the campaign, strategy and creative – led by Lansons’ directors Sam Sharpe, Claire Southeard, Jess Warner and Executive Creative Director, Liam Bell, in collaboration with krow Executive Creative Director Darryl George – has been to take the lesser-known stories of the people, projects and places that have changed lives with the support of National Lottery funding and use showstopping visual storytelling to make that impact impossible to ignore.
Kicking off in mid-September, the campaign revealed four major art installations across the UK, which collectively celebrated 28 Game Changers – individuals who have done extraordinary things with National Lottery funding. Using the Game Changer’s stories as their inspiration, four internationally renowned artists were briefed to produce thought provoking work which honoured their impact:

Groundbreaking Ouchhh Studio used a cognitive headset to capture the brainwaves of Arts and Film Game Changers, to produce a UK-first AI artwork that illuminated the V&A

A poem It’s not about winning by Scottish contemporary artist Robert Montgomery was installed in the Wembley dressing room, at Principality Stadium, floated on Stirling University Swimming Pool, printed in the ring at Ulster Boxing High Performance Centre, and brought to life through a dramatic reading by Clare Balding, in tribute to Sport Game Changers

Celebrated land artist David Popa used natural pigments to transform Whitby Abbey into a 5,400 square metre Heritage Tree, and Sir Tony Robinson recorded a Time Team homage, in tribute to Game Changers for UK Heritage and Conservation

Part-grandmaster-part-graffiti-artist Luis Gomez de Teran honoured Community Game Changers with large scale portraits that appeared to float on the water in St. James’s Park, London
Game Changer back stories and their reactions to artwork unveilings were captured for moving social first films. Public artwork launches, stunning film and photography, and profiling of the Game Changers, artists, and tens of A-list talent with personal connections to The National Lottery and The Game Changers fuelled a campaign that saw The National Lottery dominate online and media channels over three months.
The campaign’s open source It’s a Game Changer creative platform and a sustained stakeholder engagement programme ensured the Game Changer terminology and branding was embraced by numerous famous faces and hundreds of organisations including The National Trust, English Heritage, The BFI, Athletics GB, and the FA. Delivering a powerful, single-minded narrative and rich, authentic storytelling from all those who have benefited from National Lottery funding.
The cumulative impact of that on the campaign’s reach and penetration has been seismic and by the birthday itself #NationalLottery30 was trending on social.
The campaign is set to continue with the reveal of two final Game Changers on ITV’s The Big Bash on New Year’s Eve, and a renewed focus in early 2025 on the next generation and the opportunity they have to shape the future with the help of National Lottery funding.
Lansons CEO, Gordon Tempest-Hay commented: “We are very proud of The Game Changer campaign. It was extremely ambitious. Scouting locations and briefing artists to create five major art installations in three months. Selecting and rallying 30 Game Changers from all corners of the country as the artwork’s subjects and ambassadors. Collaborating with hundreds of stakeholders to spread the word. Enlisting a major A-list talent roster. The team did it, the Good Causes funding message has landed clearly, and everywhere, and it has been an honour to represent The National Lottery for its 30th birthday milestone.”
National Lottery Head of Partnerships, Adam Chataway, said: “It was amazing to see Lansons’ ambitious, fantastic ideas brought to life after so much hard work. They powerfully visualised the impact of The National Lottery on the UK and I know our partners were wowed by it and we are delighted.”
Director of the National Lottery Promotions Unit, Jonathan Tuchner, said: “Thank you to the Lansons / krow team for their creativity, commitmentand impact with this exceptional campaign. What the team have achieved has been stunning, extraordinary, got the nation talking and was the perfect way to celebrate the impact of 30 years of National Lottery funding.”