How the South Carolina Education Lottery Used a College Rivalry to Support Education

By Josh Whiteside, Chief Marketing Officer, SCEL

Published August 19, 2025

College football is a major part of Southern culture and, in South Carolina, allegiance is divided between the University of South Carolina Gamecocks and the Clemson Tigers.

We have maintained a longstanding relationship with the universities, and for years, the South Carolina Education Lottery worked to develop a partnership with both institutions that would include branded scratch-off tickets. That vision became a reality in 2022 with the launch of the Carolina Jackpot and Clemson Jackpot games – now annual favorites.

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The Challenge

After three years of running the Carolina and Clemson scratch-off campaign, the Lottery recognized the need for a new approach. Rather than highlighting division between fan bases, the new goal was to bring them together in a meaningful way.

However, the state’s college rivalry runs deep – often passed down through generations. One of the early campaign commercials in 2022 even portrayed a woman in labor refusing help from a doctor due to his college allegiance.

The challenge was to dial back the intensity of the rivalry and emphasize a shared purpose: funding education through lottery proceeds.

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The Solution

In 2024, the Lottery introduced a new commercial campaign titled “The Regular.”

To accomplish this, the Lottery collaborated with production partners Chernoff Newman and Dust of the Ground. The result was a campaign that focused on universal values like family, community, and educational opportunity. The message was clear: While rivalries are fun, supporting students and scholarships at both universities matters more.

In the ad, a familiar customer named Carl walks into a local country store and chats with Fred, who works there. Their conversation reveals that Carl’s daughter is choosing where to attend college. Carl wears a Clemson hat, while Fred wears a Gamecock one – making their preferences clear. In the end, Carl picks up a Carolina Jackpot scratch-off ticket instead of his usual Clemson Jackpot one, subtly indicating his daughter’s college decision. The ad closes with the message:“Supporting Gamecocks, Tigers, fathers, daughters, rivals, friends and you for over 20 years.”

This message was also reinforced at points of sale across the state.

Results

The campaign was highly successful, with “The Regular” earning multiple accolades from both the Telly Awards and the American Advertising Federation of the Midlands:

• Best in Broadcast

• Gold Addy for Copywriting

• Silver Telly Award

• Two Silver Addys for Overall Commercial and Cinematography

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Beyond the awards, the scratch-off games offered players a chance to win up to $100,000. Second-chance winners were invited to live prize reveal events at both university arenas, where more than 18,000 fans looked on. The winners’ reactions were genuine, memorable, and a highlight of the entire campaign.

Winner stories drew both state and national attention:

• Team loyalty earns S.C. woman $200,000 lottery jackpot

• Lottery player is no football fan — but she scores big on Clemson scratch-off ticket 

• S.C. man makes lottery run for his wife, wins $200,000

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Behind the Scenes

The country store featured in “The Regular” was a real location in Batesburg, S.C., run by a husband and wife for 28 years. Not long after the commercial was filmed, the couple sold the business and entered semi-retirement. The commercial served as a memorable tribute to their time running the store.

When asked about future commercials, that store owner joked, “I thought maybe you’d run ours again.” In 2025, the Lottery did just that and brought the ad back on air.

Looking Ahead

While college football rivalries are measured by games won or lost, the true impact of the Lottery’s partnership with Clemson and the University of South Carolina is much greater. In 2025 alone, nearly $4 million raised from the sale of these scratch-off tickets will go toward educational funding for students across the state.

That’s a result we’re proud to stand behind.