NS&I CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF PREMIUM BONDS
Menu of materials available
On 1 November 2006, National Savings and Investments (NS&I) will celebrate 50 years since Premium Bonds first went on sale and caught the imagination of the British public.
Fifty years on, Premium Bonds worth £32 billion are held by 23 million people, almost 40% of the population, making them one of Britain’s most successful financial products.
This anniversary provides an excellent opportunity for journalists and broadcasters and the following media materials are available:
Factsheets
- ERNIE, the Premium Bonds prize draw machine
- Prize draw/odds
- Sales/commercial info
- General
- 50 facts
Photography
- Agent Million, the person who hand-delivers the £1 million jackpot each month
- Historical (people, places, events)
- ERNIE
Video
- Broadcast quality video footage (b-roll) including historic and current images of Premium Bonds, ERNIE over the years, people buying Premium Bonds plus soundbites with Premium Bond winners
Locations
- The ERNIE 4 simulator in Blackpool has been designed to reveal the secrets of how the famous Premium Bonds draw works and is available as a venue for outside broadcasts, interviews and photo opportunities.
- A visual display charting 50 years of Premium Bonds at the Trafalgar Hotel, London is available on 31st October and 1st November as a venue for outside broadcasts, interviews and photo opportunities.
People and personalities
- Agent Million, the person who hand-delivers the £1 million jackpot
- Johnny Ball, TV’s favourite number expert, who helped launch ERNIE 4 in August 2004 (available 31 October and 1 November)
- Professor Richard Wiseman, expert on luck (available 25 Oct to 1 Nov)
- Gill Cardy, Independent Financial Adviser from Professional Partnerships (available 26 to 31 Oct)
- Karen Ritchie, Independent Financial Adviser from Financial Planning for Women (available 25 Oct to 1 Nov)
- Engineers who designed the first ERNIE
- Employees from 1956, responsible for checking the winning numbers, checking eligibility of winners and customer service, who have unique stories from the first draw on.
- John Prout, NS&I’s sales director
- Peter Cornish, NS&I’s marketing director
- Sally Swait, NS&I’s Premium Bond manager
Case studies
- High value winners (although not jackpot winners, who have all chosen to remain anonymous)
- Regular winners
- Customers with Premium Bonds since the launch in 1956
- Winners from the first draw in 1957
- Customers called ERNIE
Events
- Agent Million webchat on 18 October
- Two day media exhibition at the Trafalgar Hotel, London, 31 Oct-1 November
- Photo call at 9am in Trafalgar Square on 1 November
- Five jackpots given away in the biggest prize draw ever, 1 December
Podcasts
- Agent Million interview
- Audio files of historical film footage
- Millionaire case study
- Other pre-recorded case studies
These materials will be available on a dedicated micro site, www.premiumbonds50.com, which has been specifically designed for journalists interested in the anniversary and will be live from Wednesday 18 October.
Alternatively please contact the NS&I media team.
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