Luxury Weed Brand Riffs on Iconic Virginia Slims Ads for 4/20

A luxury brand dubbed “the Coco Chanel of cannabis” has borrowed from one of the most famous women-centered ad campaigns in history to make a splash on April 20, the Black Friday of weed. Flower by Edie Parker launched its largest marketing effort to date under the tagline, “Weed’s Come a Long Way, Baby,” putting its own twist on iconic Virginia Slims imagery and tweaking the original ad language. Brett Heyman, founder and creative director, said she’s had many of the classic 1960s and ‘70s Virginia Slims ads on her mood board for years. The slogan, “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby,” came from agency Leo Burnett for its client, the tobacco behemoth Phillip Morris. Heyman—who founded both Edie Parker, a premium handbag maker and its cannabis and smoking accessories offshoot—had been waiting for the right time to bring the concept into the modern era. “Our brand has always had an affinity for vintage design and aesthetic, so it’s common for us to look back to other eras for inspiration,” Heyman told Adweek. “And these ads were so groundbreaking—the Virginia Slims woman was stylish and independent and bold. But in 2022, she doesn’t smoke cigarettes. She smokes flower.” Mixing fashion and flora Not incidentally, women are one of the fastest growing and most coveted demographics in the cannabis market, according to Headset, with their numbers swelling 55% over the last two years. The Edie Parker brand was early to capitalize on that trend, catering to an upscale female audience by putting canna-friendly features like built-in lighters and stash pockets in its signature purses. And since kicking off Flower by Edie Parker in 2019, Heyman has melded the two lines together, merchandising her products like hand-blown glass bongs, one-hitter necklaces, blunt tips, table lighters and rolling trays with the flagship clutches and bags at retail. A contemporary take on a classic The Flower by Edie Parker images, created by an in-house team and shot in Brooklyn, N.Y. last month, feature brand ambassador-influencers Richie Shazam, Faith Jaggernauth and Tiffany Luu. The models were encouraged to improvise for a campaign that’s intended to be more an homage than a replication of yesteryear’s Virginia Slims ads, which successfully—some would argue diabolically—co-opted feminism to sell Big Tobacco. The Flower by Edie Parker ads are going up via wild postings in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Boston and include the brand's cheeky nickname, Weedie Parker, and tagline, "Flower meets fashion, for a good time." It’s the most significant media buy that Heyman has ever done, she said, which she hopes will make her brand stand out at a cluttered and critical time on the weed calendar. “If you’re a cannabis brand, you must participate in 4/20,” Heyman said. “It’s one of our biggest marketing initiatives of the year next to New York Fashion Week, and it’s become what Black Friday and Cyber Monday are to fashion and other goods.” The models are posing with twin packs of pre-rolls called Best Buds, which launched from Flower by Edie Parker last fall in Massachusetts and Illinois via a deal with Ascend Wellness. But beyond that product placement, Heyman wants the work to have a halo effect over the entire brand, which has non-flower accouterments available nationally through a dedicated website, Urban Outfitters, indie boutiques and dispensaries run by Cresco Labs, Insa, Curaleaf and others. “Running paid marketing is really frustrating because of the restrictions on what you can and can’t talk about as a cannabis brand,” Heyman said. “But we found some good opportunities with out-of-home and it encouraged us to do the biggest campaign we’ve ever done.” Vape Brand Pax Shows ‘More Flowerful’ Side of the Unsung Heroines of Cannabis

Cannabis

Luxury Cannabis Brand Riffs on Iconic Women-Centric Ads to Make a 4/20 Splash

'Weed's come a long way, baby' harkens back to the classic Virginia Slims campaign to promote Flower by Edie Parker

T.L. Stanley

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T.L. Stanley