Stok’d Cannabis launches ingenious campaign amidst marketing restrictions
By James Herring on Friday, March 1, 2024
In a creative leap over Canada’s stringent cannabis marketing laws, Stok’d Cannabis, in collaboration with Angry Butterfly for strategy and creative, has launched a unique advertising campaign titled “Next to Stok’d.”
The campaign, designed to sidestep the nation’s restrictive advertising regulations, cleverly promotes a bookstore, a nail salon, and an electrician, rather than directly advertising cannabis products.
Due to Canada’s tight controls on cannabis marketing—which prohibit showcasing products, people, paraphernalia, the interior of stores, or discussing the effects—cannabis retailers like Stok’d have found it challenging to build their brands. This regulatory environment has been pointed to as a significant reason for the industry’s sluggish performance since cannabis was legalized in 2018.
The “Next to Stok’d” campaign, which targets adults over the age of 21, was rolled out last month through a mix of paid digital posts, pre-roll advertisements, radio spots, and transit shelter ads (TSAs).
To navigate the potential risk of being blocked by major online platforms like Google or Meta, Stok’d and Angry Butterfly chose to wait until the campaign had concluded before making any public announcements.
