Piers Morgan is terrible and he knows it

Now, I'm not saying it's ever a good thing to see more of Piers Morgan on television than is strictly necessary (less than not at all would be ideal), but for once I actually thing his smug, deflated David Cameron face has been put to good use. The National Lottery has put everyone's least favourite douche at the front and centre of a new advertising campaign from AMV BBDO, which takes a tongue-in-cheek look at those spots that show us where our money has gone. In this case, it's gone (hypothetically) to Morgan and the equally loathsome Katie Price, and the result is some actually rather hilarious ad work!

Deserving Winners (So you don't lose all hope in humanity)

The “Please Not Them” campaign aims to promote not only the Lotto game, but the Good Cause Projects that it helps fund. It follows the introduction of a re-invigorated version of Lotto that debuted back in 2013. Now Camelot has challenged AMV to create work that will really get the nation talking. Considering how much our nation loves to complain, I'm almost certain it'll do the trick! The campaign is rooted in the insight that everyone has dreams, and that deep down they’d rather their dreams were realised over other people’s. By bringing the ridiculous dreams of these hated celebrities, the campaign plays on the fact that sometimes, it might be better for the nation if certain people’s dreams remain just that. The cringeworthy, but hilarious work, was written by Tim Riley and Charlotte Adorjan, with art direction. Vizeum handled the media planning and buying.

Please Not Them – Piers Morgan (CAUTION)

The campaign, broke over the weekend on Piers Morgan’s twitter feed, and is a truly integrated affair, with POS, Online, Social, Print, OOH, Radio, and TV. The first phase of the campaign features Morgan and his plan to destroy a beautiful stretch of British coastline, Camber Sands, in order to build a pier dedicated entirely to himself. The spot (above) was directed Jeff Low through Biscuit, and is available online in various formats and will also be shown nationally on UK TV. Katie Price is the second celeb banking on Lotto to make her dream come true, this time ins the shape of a 24 hour, unavoidable TV channel featuring her in every programme. Though of course, it could be argued that channel already exists in ITV Be. AMV BBDO first worked with Camelot in 2003, when it created the launch campaign for the EuroMillions draw, which led to it replacing WCRS as the company's lead creative agency the following year.

More Deserving Winners

As part of the wider campaign, the nation is invited to play Lotto in the hope that they are able realise their dreams over those of our celebrities. Across every touch point, the #PleaseNotThem hashtag serves as a rallying cry, connecting the nation’s conversations as they unite against this potential disaster. Sally Cowdry, the marketing and consumer director at Camelot, which owns the Lotto, said: “Our new Lotto campaign really captures the British sense of humour in a playful and irreverent way – using celebs to have some fun with their extravagant dreams and to remind the nation that anyone can win. And that’s what Lotto is all about, a small outlay for a big dream.” As the campaign develops, the idea is that we'll begin to realise the true horror of the situation as a number of other celebrities reveal their own audacious dreams. So who do you think could be next? Phillip Schofield perhaps? Ant and Dec? Personally, I'm banking on Peter Andre. I honestly don't mind as long as it's not Katie Hopkins. I don't think I could handle that one.

Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK. The Piers House of Fears might just be the single most terrifying thing he's ever witnessed.