Spanish Oddities
Spanish Christmas lottery in its second year without a bald British actor playing the part of El Calvo
By m.p.
Dec 20, 2007 - 9:49 PM

2007 is the second year the posters and TV commercials advertising the world’s largest lottery have not featured ‘El Calvo,’ the bald British actor Clive Arrindell, who was paid between 120,000 and 150,000 € a year since 1998 to feature exclusively in advertising for El Gordo – the special Christmas draw of the national lottery in Spain.

The State Lottery Organisation decided the character created by Clive – a black and white image of an imposing figure clothed in a black robe, accompanied by music from Dr Zhivago – had got so big that most of the Spanish public only watched him, and failed to read the message of the prize money. Ticket sales increased by an annual average of 8.5%, however, in the years of El Calvo, and last year’s, the first without the man in black, was down to 5.4%.

Juan Antonio Cabrejas said for the State Lottery Organisation that he hopes 2007 sales will be similar to last year’s, and expects to sell 92% of the 157,250,000 décimos – a tenth part of a lottery ticket – which have been issued, ‘with or without el calvo.’

Loterías has chosen for this year’s advert a theme that Lady Luck smiles on everyone, including immigrants who choose Spain for their home. It features desert scenes from Morocco, and a railway scene, with passengers from South America arriving at the station.