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
Photography
- Agent Million, the person who hand-delivers the £1 million jackpot each month
- Historical (people, places, events)
- ERNIE
Video
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.
You can also subscribe to our RSS feed to receive alerts whenever any new media materials become available.
