Scholar | North Carolina Education Lottery – ‘Play Smart’

The North Carolina Education Lottery’s ‘Play Smart‘ campaign resource is all about empowerment. By teaching players to understand the odds, manage money wisely, and make informed choices, ‘Play Smart’ elevates the lottery experience. To capture this mission, we revamped the brand with punchy visuals, charming animations, and diverse characters that reflect North Carolina’s lottery players—plus some fun local nods like dogwood trees sprinkled throughout!

Scholar team tackled a 30-second broadcast spot and three 90-second animated explainers, blending entertainment with education. The new design system didn’t stop there—it expanded into a full rebrand of the “Play Smart” experience, adding relatable “swaggerific” characters and lottery tickets with personality-packed poses. Scholar made sure every detail oozed fun while keeping things crystal clear.

The final look leaned into an editorial style, using a triadic color palette with halftone shadows for a touch of sophistication. Clean animations and smooth transitions balanced playfulness with maturity, creating a campaign that feels fresh, responsible, and engaging—everything ‘Play Smart’ should be.

Design & Animation: Scholar
Associate Creative Director: Madison Ellis
Junior Art Director: Irma Hasanic
Sr Executive Producer.: Antonio Hardy
Executive Producer: Peter Hullinger
Director of Production: Tyler Locke
Head of Production: Nicole Smarsh
Sr Producer: Michael Heil
Associate Producer: Caroline Kaczynski
Designers: Ana Chang, Jee Kim, Kiron Robinson, Vera Babida, Siena Mae, Stephanie Stromenger
2D Animators: Sam Bachman, Kenny Kerut, Vera Babida, Gung-Kai Koo, Zac Miller, Mikhail Pakhomov
Cel Animators: Ana Chang, Kiron Robinson, Brian Covalt, Griffin Giersch Masayoshi Nakamura, Michael Relth, Julia Simas, Aly Tain
Mix & Sound Design: Heavy Duty Projects
Mix & Sound Designer: Hans Hsu