O Positive director David Shane's form of subtle-but-excruciating humor has translated fabulously to the U.K. market -- his hilarious Currys PCWorld holiday ads with Jeff Goldblum were well-received and now another major advertiser, the U.K. Lotto, has engaged him to direct a series of funny new spots through the same agency, AMV BBDO.

Promoting the Lotto's new instant play brand Gamestore, the ads all highlight moments where your chances of success are very slim -- for instance, as seen here, not laughing in a meeting where a French colleague pronounces banking as "bonking" (a euphemism for sex in Britain). Other scenes include a farmer trying to flirt with women when his hand is up a cow's backside; a man stuck down a well asking his dog to go for help, Lassie-style; an office worker calling for help from her company IT; a woman searching for a missing cat next to a busy road, and a charity worker trying to stop people in the street -- to support "bankers in need."

All these "no chance" moments are contrasted with the "1 in 4" chance of a win when playing Gamestore. Out-of-home creative follows a similar pattern by pairing a "no chance" visual (such as a scruffy-looking dog at a prestigious dog show, or a woman with all 13 of her cats featured in her online dating profile picture) with a GameStore product and odds of 1 in 4.