The biggest day on the cannabis calendar is upon us. The swift approach of April 20 meant, for product marketers and social media teams across CPG brands, what’s now “4/20 season” has been in full swing for at least a month.
Brands large, small and entirely cannabis-unrelated are cooking up ways to associate themselves with weed—but in a good way. That is, responsible and fun, while also brand-conscious and clever enough to rise above exhausted puns to resonate with cannabis consumers as authentic—all while ideally going viral and looking cool.
It’s a trickier feat than you might think, as countless wreckages of previously failed 4/20 stunts demonstrate. But this marketing exercise also presents a unique opportunity for brands to exercise their creative muscles and have fun with their audiences, and even other brands, while contributing to and aligning themselves with positive social change. Marijuana legalization is just as much a social and criminal justice corrective as it is a commercial and tax collection opportunity, after all.
And as more Fortune 500 companies experiment with cannabis messaging and court an ever-growing demographic of cannabis consumers, 4/20 is as much a marketing holiday as it is a day out for consumers lured by BOGO doorbusters.
That said, this still isn’t for everyone. A 4/20 campaign isn’t something T. Rowe Price is likely to do, but it’s almost de rigueur for, say, Doritos. We’ve come to expect it.
So what tweet or ad will go viral this year for the right and wrong reasons? And for those brands still debating a 4/20 strategy, what are the rules to follow?
For those of us old enough to remember the 1980s and the Clinton 1990s, the fact alone that we’re having this conversation represents a significant shift in society. Long gone are the “Just Say No” days, when even a whiff of the counterculture was mainstream brand poison. Here now are the wellness-savvy, sophisticated Gen Z and millennial consumers for whom selecting a cannabis brand is yet another values-driven consumer choice to go along with a hybrid vehicle or progressive clothing designer.
Some brands have advantageous positions: They’ve put in their dues, and they can have a little fun with the stoner labels without coming off as cringe opportunists or fake sellouts. Though Ben & Jerry’s is currently owned by CPG giant Unilever, the ice cream company has remained true to its crunchy roots—and is a rare example of a big mainstream brand that can get away with tired stoner humor.
“Blunt” puns work for Ben & Jerry’s because of the self-aware irony, and because they’re used to packaging a very direct social justice message. The 4/20 message is values-driven, and Ben & Jerry’s uses its platform to clearly communicate awareness of the gravity of the drug war and how we have still not reached the goal of national legalization. Authentic and heartfelt, Ben & Jerry’s is one prime example of a brand getting 4/20 right.
General Mills demonstrated what a fine line this is to tread a few years ago when it unveiled billboards for Totino’s Pizza Rolls in Denver. “It’s high time for some pizza rolls,” the ads declared, highlighting the message for those slow on the uptake with the hashtagged slogan, “#betterwhenbaked.”
We’ll allow it, since stoners have a sense of humor, but we’ve also come to expect more out-of-the-box creativity from brands marketing to modern cannabis consumers. Yes, it can give you the munchies—we get it already. It’s not fresh or smart. And guess what? Everyone snacks, and cannabis consumers who embrace the plant as a part of their wellness regimen aren’t likely to respond to the Totino’s style of messaging.
If your brilliant 4/20 idea is yet another red-eyed, anthropomorphic food item, please at least be aware that it’s been done before, and that you’re talking to an audience that doesn’t appreciate being talked down to for the zillionth time. We love Cheech and Chong and respect their activist turns, but brands these days have to try a little harder than simply inserting played out, 1970s era tropes into their modern 4/20 messaging.
In short, try to resist the stoner jokes and the tacit endorsement of overconsumption. Don’t fall back on outdated and offensive stereotypes. Do be encouraged to fill this white space with something head-turning. Recognize the rare moment in history and rise to it.
Consider partnering with the ACLU or the Cannabis Voter Project. When it comes to your creative, choose modern and feminine, like the flowering plant in question, instead of tie-dyed and blunt—and I’d encourage you to watch your puns with this savvier-than-expected demographic. When in doubt, go for earnest over cheeky.
Cannabis consumption is an increasingly socially acceptable and legal activity—and part of a growing multibillion-dollar consumer market to boot. As Congress debates legalization this year, and even conservative states join the legalization march, brands hoping to get in on 4/20 need to be putting out messaging that’s a little more sophisticated than a droopy-eyed cartoon about to launch into a joke that it, uh, forgot.
