Chicago Sun Times is reporting the numbers comedian Bernie Mac is being paid to endorse the Illinois Lottery—$500,000 for about 2-1/2 days of work, or $23,000 an hour.
“It certainly makes me pause when I hear those kind of numbers for the little amount of work he’s doing,” said state Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock). “It seems to me we could probably be getting similar results for substantially less advertising.”
Lottery officials disagree. Mac’s presence in the 2004 ads helped increase instant ticket sales about $62.5 million from the previous year, lottery spokesman Courtney Hill said.
The lottery spends about $22 million a year on advertising and public relations. Its main marketing agency is Chicago-based R.J. Dale Advertising & Public Relations, which came under fire last year for inadequate financial recordkeeping.
