When The Extras Almost Steal The Show: Oregon Lottery Gifting Guru TV Campaign

The Gifting Guru, with his plaid jacket and rapid-fire delivery, is one of the most popular characters in the Oregon Lottery's holiday TV spots.

But this year--while he was still very good--he was nearly upstaged by the extras in his TV Show audience.

In case you haven't seen the spots, the Gifting Guru is the host of a TV talk show/infomercial where he throws out gift ideas to an enthusiastic studio audience. Surprisingly, he only ever suggests Oregon Lottery Scratch-its.

Shooting this season's spots required a retro-paneled wood set, complete with oven, as well as a three tiered area for the Guru's studio audience to sit. It required about 50 extras to fill the chairs. And even though their time on-camera is brief, the performances are hilarious.

A few favorites: Bunny suit guy, Emo Philips hair guy, and turquoise jacket guy who looks like he's about to blow a gasket. 

Of course, like all good holiday productions, this one required the cast to wear bulky winter clothing while being shot on one of the hottest days of early fall. 

The spots were directed by Sean Blixseth and Taylor Siolka for R/West. Elliot Freeman produced and Casey Nolan was the DP.

Scroll down to the see two of the four spots the Lottery produced for their Holiday Scratch-its campaign. And see if you can spot the TV show cameraman who never once looks into his viewfinder. Amazing!