Quote :

"Legislator objects to planned lottery ad By Corey G. Johnson, Staff writer, 2-5-2008 State Sen. Larry Shaw of Fayetteville charged state lottery officials Monday with using black children to persuade black people to buy lottery tickets. Shaw’s reaction came after learning the N.C. Education Lottery is filming a television commercial today at Fayetteville State University’s Early Childhood Learning Center. Some 4-year-olds and parents who participate in FSU’s early childhood development program — called More at Four — were scheduled to appear in the program. Tom Shaheen, the lottery’s executive director, also is scheduled to appear at the taping. “They are targeting black kids to get black folks to buy lottery tickets,” Shaw said. Interviews and documents show that FSU officials may have broken a UNC system policy by agreeing to the taping. On May 24, 2007, UNC system President Erskine Bowles sent a memorandum to the chancellors of all 16 schools, urging them to end any lottery advertising agreements. The request came as Bowles learned that some universities were advertising the lottery at school athletic events. “While it is legal for our students who are 18 or older to participate in the lottery, the lottery is nonetheless a form of gambling, and I feel strongly that we should not encourage gambling by our students,” Bowles wrote. Matthew Bowman, director of FSU’s Early Childhood Learning Center, said Interim Chancellor Vic Hackley and FSU’s legal office reviewed and approved the request, which was received about two weeks ago from the local funding agency, the Cumberland County Partnership for Children. Jeff Davies, chief of staff for the UNC system, said FSU’s decision stemmed from a misinterpretation. “This is not consistent with our policy. FSU thought the policy only applied to athletic events, but we meant for this to be interpreted widely,” Davies said. “Had we known about it, we would have advised differently.” Shaw blasted the use of children in the ad as immoral, inappropriate and tasteless. “If they want to use Vegas- style women, fine — they are adults. But don’t use children,” Shaw said. “Would you use young kids to sell liquor?” Shaw also questioned why lottery officials chose to film in Fayetteville over schools in the Raleigh-Durham area. “Why pick black kids in Fayetteville? Because they think here they will get the least resistance,” Shaw said. Pam Walker, communications director for the lottery, denied Shaw’s charges. Walker said lottery officials intended to do a commercial that demonstrated what is done with lottery funding, “We are often asked how lottery dollars are spent and so we are doing this commercial to show people,” Walker said. “The NCEL and its advertising agency chose to do the commercial filming in the Fayetteville area because the school system has completed a school addition (Stoney Point Elementary) using lottery money.” FSU’s Early Childhood Learning Center was established in 1970 to provide early childhood education majors an opportunity to work with young children. Since 2003, FSU has operated a More at Four program, which is open to children of all races, Bowman said. The center has 14 staff members and a total of 80 children. Fifty-four children participate in the More at Four program at FSU. Shaw said he learned of the commercial from an e-mail he received last week. He said he was shocked to see that the ad included children. “I’m personally against gambling, but I voted for it because this is what the people wanted,” Shaw said. “But to use children crosses the line.”"

Now look, we need people to gamble...it's for the children after all. Put the kids in ads..have them smiling and waving winning scratch-off tickets. Get the lottery into the names of these day-care programs: "More Big Winners at Four" "The Smart Start Pick Three" "Power Dodge-Ball"

Could this be another one of the conundrums of gov't-run gambling? They need lots of people playing the lottery for it to succeed, but it's too immoral to advertise it in any effective manner.

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=284854

2/5/2008 6:17:59 PM

this country was founded on racial issues.

I'm sure Shaw would have been shocked and made a big deal if they DiDN'T use blacks in this commercial. Are they trying to say blacks can't afford lottery tickets?



[Edited on February 5, 2008 at 6:40 PM. Reason : .]

2/5/2008 6:38:56 PM

The racial thing doesn't make any sense here. There were whites and blacks involved and nobody was portrayed in a negative light. If you're opposed to the ads, fine, but use a logical argument to justify your opposition.

2/5/2008 10:22:24 PM

while i oppose the hypocrisy on NC gambling laws while we have a state sponsored lottery; i have a lot of trouble buying the class warfare argument against the lottery. No one makes somebody buy a lottery ticket. Chances are that $1 would just be used to buy smokes or booze with some people. Peoples stupidity is their own problem

2/5/2008 10:31:55 PM

^Except it's not just one dollar.

Some people spend $50-100/week on lottery tickets.

We've done a poor job of educating people about money management (on purpose, one might argue), and now we've added the allure of the lottery to the equation.

2/7/2008 3:02:41 PM

at least that is $50 they can't use on drugs or booze

I am sorry you are not going to convince me that the government needs to protect people from themselves. If they are that stupid then they deserve to be manipulated to have their money taken. At least this way they are actually supporting something good (education) instead of chrome rims for a drug dealer, or a bounus for some shady salesman.

Maybe you can go door to door and "educate" poor people that playing the lottery is the govt cheating them out of $$$

[Edited on February 7, 2008 at 3:06 PM. Reason : a]

2/7/2008 3:05:50 PM

Maybe i'm cold-hearted but I can not feel bad for poor people choosing to play the lottery. They'd be bitching about raised taxes so its a win-win

2/7/2008 4:12:25 PM

the lottery is a tax on the stupid

2/7/2008 4:27:56 PM

haha; that made me laugh

2/7/2008 4:32:36 PM

Quote :

"I am sorry you are not going to convince me that the government needs to protect people from themselves. If they are that stupid then they deserve to be manipulated to have their money taken."

The government shouldn't protect people from themselves any more than they should lay out land mines for them to step in.

Quote :

"At least this way they are actually supporting something good (education) instead of chrome rims for a drug dealer, or a bounus for some shady salesman."

Because if they money doesn't go toward the lottery there's no question that it is automatically going toward something that is equally stupid?

2/8/2008 8:53:33 AM