The Man Who Brought You OK!, Brings You The Health Lottery
The Health Lottery is launched today by Richard Desmond, who owns Channel 5, the Daily Express, OK and other media interests.
Surely, with the state the country is in, we don’t need a venture like this. This is an extract from the BBC article.
Some charity leaders have been critical that less will go to good causes than from each National Lottery ticket.
The Health Lottery will donate over 20p per £1 ticket, compared with 28p for every National Lottery ticket.
That has been branded a “pretty disgraceful development” by Sir Stephen Bubb, of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations.
I shall not be buying a ticket. In addition, I shall not be buying anything from any shop that sells the tickets either, as now is not the time, to inflict another tax on the poor and the stupid.
One point about the Daily Express and the Daily Star is that if you click on their web sites or arrive there through Google, you immediately get a new browser window with an advert. How long before these windows are advertising the Health Lottery?
I also like this bit from the Independent diary of March 2nd, this year.
More sterling work from brand synergy specialist Elisa Roche, showbusiness editor of the Daily Express, who yesterday managed to squeeze an entire two-page spread from the news that her boss – philanthropist and former publisher of Asian Babes, Richard Desmond – had launched “The Health Lottery”, a new lottery game designed to raise money for health charities. Admittedly, almost half of the aforementioned spread was taken up by a large picture of Desmond (who owns Television X, Express Newspapers, OK! magazine and Channel 5) and his girlfriend, flanked by fellow guests at the “star-studded” launch. “Celebrities who were keen to show their support for the fantastic new lottery,” the optimistic Ms Roche dutifully reports, “included Kirsty Duffy, from Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff, [Channel 5] weathergirl Sian Welby, OK! TV’s Matt Johnson and Kate Walsh, Zoe Salmon of Fiver’s The Love Bus and Channel 5 news presenters Emma Crosby and Matt Barbet.”
I’ve never heard of any of those celebrities at the launch of the Health Lottery, but then I’ve never read OK magazine.
The Anonymous Widower 
I have seen many people with little money spend large amounts on lottery tickets and scratchcards. I agree, the money raised will be coming out the pockets of the people who dont have money. Just as the taxes raised from on-line gambling sites are.
I havent heard of the any of the celebrities either, and I dont read any of the “gossip” magazines. However, I have some respect for OK! because I have had some experience of working with them on a story, and they showed themselves to be far more ethical and caring than the commercial brand name involved.
Comment by liz | September 27, 2011 |
But surely Richard Desmond (a.k.a. Dirty Des) is a respectable guy since buying some national newspapers, especially now he owns two national newspapers and several TV stations. It would just be churlish to mention the titles of some of his TV programmes, such as Tashes to Gashes, Ass in the Attic, Bellenders and Freddie’s Tattoo Tarts.
It is organised into 52 separate lotteries to ensure that none exceeds the maximum revenue permitted without having to pay lottery tax to HMRC. One might say, in this respect at least, that like another of his businesses the Health Lottery is “barely legal” !
Let us hope Mr. Desmond’s http://www.health-lottery.co.uk is a rip-roaring success.
Comment by Grim Reaper (@didtheydiecom) | September 27, 2011 |