4) Show-Me Organics | ‘Ask Your Doctor’ by Bandits & Friends
It sure looks and sounds like a Big Pharma ad, with cheesy visuals and stereotypical narration. It even hijacks the instantly recognizable phrase “ask your doctor.” But this 30-second spot is actually a brilliant broadside attack on a medical system that routinely overprescribes opioids and never mentions cannabis as an alternative to those highly addictive drugs. Show-Me Organics, working with newly launched indie agency Bandits & Friends, tried to get the lightly branded satirical spot on local broadcast TV, per new rules in Missouri that say restrictions on weed marketing “shall be no more stringent” than regs on booze commercials. Spoiler: It was rejected. But it energized the discussion during National Recovery Month and beyond.
3) Cannabis Media Council | ‘I’m High Right Now’ by Sister Merci
Here’s the latest news about the first campaign from professional association CMC: It has reached all 50 states, snagging more than 18 million impressions, the bulk of those from a collaboration with Pornhub via TrafficJunky. It has appeared in consumer pubs ranging from Men’s Health and Good Housekeeping to Vanity Fair and Town & Country. Spanish-language versions of the print ads are on the way, as are audio and out-of-home ads in multiple markets. Though it dropped nearly a year ago, “I’m High Right Now” is as fresh today as it was then, busting barriers in the tightly regulated weed ad space and dispelling tired myths about cannabis consumers. Yes, boomer!
2) Show-Me Organics | ‘Buoyant Bob’ by Powderbox
In its second campaign on the best list, Show-Me Organics again challenged the prevailing ad rules—with spectacularly trippy results. Company creatives and agency Powderbox turned the brand Buoyant Bob into a band to celebrate the kickoff of recreational sales in Missouri, knowing that the unconventional approach could get them into places where weed can’t usually go. Buoyant Bob became a verified artist on Spotify, dropped a groovy single called “The Man Who Got So High,” held the state’s first legal consumption event and premiered a low-key hypnotic music video. Sales of Bob and sibling brands skyrocketed 619% during a takeover at a popular St. Louis dispensary, and Bob’s bud sold out two days from delivery, on average, at its retail doors in the promotion’s first month. Meantime, other artists picked up and remixed Bob’s song, adding to the exposure, and Bob’s Beats streamed 60,000 times in the first 90 days. The campaign proved the brand’s point: “You can restrict cannabis advertising, but you can’t stop the music.”
