Gus' Owner Upset Groundhog Was Fired

PHILADELPHIA - The company that owns former Pennsylvania Lottery spokesman Gus the Groundhog is upset that state marketing officials put its  creation out to pasture.

Slideshow: Gus' Characters Through The Years

Rick Lazzarini runs The Character Shop in Simi Valley, Calif., which created Gus back in 2004 as one of its many animated characters that appear in movies and TV, and in commercials.

"If Hollywood went with the same 'logic' as the new Lottery folks are using, they'd be saying 'Yeah, Tom Cruise has been seen by his target market enough. Let's retire him. Let's not use him anymore,'" says Lazzarini.

On Tuesday, state lottery officials said they were ending the long-running Gus the Groundhog ad campaign for the lottery, saying they were looking to take the campaign in a different direction.

Lottery spokeswoman Allison Roberts told WJAC-TV in Johnstown that March 1 would be Gus the Groundhog’s last day with the lottery, and that its research showed the Gus campaign achieved its goals.

WJAC-TV also said that the average cost for a commercial starring Gus ran between $300,000 and $400,000.

MyFoxPhilly.com reached out to Lazzarini, who was quick to point out that lottery sales grew quickly when Gus was introduced back in 2004.

"Since Gus was introduced, lottery ticket sales rose by $1 billion," he says. "That has either remained steady, or given record-breaking revenue, even with this horrible economic climate we've been in the past few years."

As of June 30, 2011, lottery sales were at just over $3.2  billion a year. About $1.9 billion comes from Instant games, where people scratch off the numbers on a card with a coin. The lottery made a profit of $960 million for the year.

Prior to the arrival of Gus, the lottery's sales were $2.3 billion in 2004, with a net revenue of $818 million. Instant games brought in $989 million back then.

Lazzarini also disputes the theory that the costs of doing the ads outweighed the benefits.

"The Lottery has come out to say that his commercials cost, on average, $150,000 more than other Lottery Commercials. Like that was a bad thing," Lazzarini says. "They cost more because they have more production value, more pop, more zazz, more entertainment value, and more long-term recognition."

Lazzarini also believes that Pennsylvania TV viewers might see Gus again.

"We have had a similar situation out here in California. We created the Foster Imposters, spokespuppets for a regional Poultry company. After 11 years of incredible popularity, 'new blood' came into the company and decided to 'shake things up,'" he says.

Soon, the company brought back the puppets after consumers complained.

"The Foster Farms Chickens have now been going for 17 years strong," he says.

Lazzarini says if people want to see Gus back again, social media could be the key.

"I'm optimistic that Gus can have a resurgence. It will require a letter-writing campaign, Facebook Groups, and other Social Networking to convince the Lottery folks and the new Ad Agency that perhaps they shouldn't retire their Most Valuable Player while he's still got a few years of performance in him," he says.

The move to retire Gus will also have a local impact.

The Main Line Media News says many of the advertisements were produced in the Philadelphia area by a Penn Valley, Pa. company.

As for what happens to Gus, Lazzarini says the second-most-famous groundhog in Pennsylvania will chill for a bit.

"Gus is going to take a sabbatical, make some of those doctor and dental appointments he's been putting off, spend some time with his family, and weigh his options," he says.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Lottery: http:// www.palottery.state.pa.us /