Cann's Guerrilla Super Bowl Ads Call for 'Substance Equality'

Cann, a THC-infused drink with a celebrity following and a provocative brand voice, is going guerrilla for the Super Bowl with an outdoor campaign challenging alcohol’s lock on advertising during the Big Game. In colorful posters debuting today within a 10-mile radius of SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Cann is showing off what co-founder Luke Anderson calls its “sharp-elbowed opinions” and pushing for “substance equality." The wild postings, in a pop-art Warholesque style, use footballs, goal posts, jerseys and helmets as central images, artfully covered with large and small print. The unsubtle reference to the marriage equality battle is no accident, Anderson said, since Cann is a proudly queer-owned business. The billboard copy includes messages such as, “Sitting through all these beer ads wondering why the f cannabis is still federally illegal,” "It's that time of year when we consume 325 gallons of beer and can't remember who won" and “Alcohol brands just spent over 25 million dollars on commercials to make you feel good about something that makes you feel kinda bad.” Tagline: “Big Game, High Time For Substance Equality.” The brand, a sales leader in the fast-growing weed-laced beverage category, will spend about $30,000 on 100 posters as “a brand equity play,” Anderson told Adweek. The posters do not specifically hawk Cann's products. “There are so many alcohol ads during the Super Bowl, it’s almost like propaganda, encouraging people to drink,” Anderson said. “At the same time, cannabis—a plant-based medicine—does not have the same access to the consumer.” Cann’s work comes on the heels of the recent Weedmaps digital short film starring Brock Ollie—a living, breathing version of the broccoli emoji—that drives home a similar point about censorship in cannabis marketing. “Cannabis is here,” says the ad’s tagline, “let’s talk about it.” Combatting stigma, challenging norms Cann, mostly a digital marketer, launched a successful outdoor campaign during last summer’s Pride month created entirely by LGBTQ+ cast, crew and creatives. Boosted by a recent round of funding, the brand will experiment more with the tactic to reach canna-curious audiences who aren’t currently shopping at dispensaries. (Cann’s low-dose THC content prohibits it from selling at grocery or mass channels, with its distribution coming through its DTC platform and cannabis retail). The brand tested the Super Bowl-adjacent waters last year with a single Instagram image—a spiritual cousin to this year’s ads—racking up several thousand engagements from its followers, more than any previous post, Anderson said. The return to the event and expansion from digital ads to physical made sense, according to the brand’s creative strategist Fern Diaz. It’s also an opportunity to introduce Cann to newbies, reinforce its positioning as an alternative to alcohol and combat the lingering stigma around cannabis. “While all eyes are on L.A., we want to talk about a choice that people may not have considered,” Diaz told Adweek. “We’re using a tongue-in-cheek approach, inventing a new language that treads lightly but takes the issue seriously.” Execs are aiming to get the posters up within a mile of the game site, taking advantage of the massive foot traffic and capacity crowd expected throughout the weekend and on Feb. 13. CREDITS: Co-founder: Luke Anderson VP Marketing: Ashley Fields Creative strategist: Fern Diaz Designer: Rifka Roth, Alex Stikeleather Legal Cannabis Could Become a $30 Billion US Industry in 2022. Here’s Where It Will Grow

Cannabis

Cann Crashes the Super Bowl With Wild Posters in LA That Call for 'Substance Equality'

THC-infused beverage follows in the footsteps of Weedmaps in challenging censorship of cannabis marketing

T.L. Stanley

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

T.L. Stanley