AdWeek meets cannabis brand Smarty Plants which advertises its weed without mentioning weed.
The idea is to promote the product without violating “community standards,” and it seems to be working. Smarty Plants is one of the fastest growing flower brands in California:
“[The campaign] will take you down a time-sucking rabbit hole of vintage commercials, ’80s pop culture, fantasy, music and sci-fi on its colorful website, which is decorated with digital UFOs. And through its packaging, it promises “free knowledge” to anyone who scans a QR code.”
- Smarty Plants founder Ryan Goldstein, who’s also CMO of cannabis marketing/branding firm Petalfast, said, “The reaction to us not talking about the plant or THC—and not including photos of grow rooms and ‘nugg’ shots—has been overwhelmingly positive and a huge help to our marketing efforts.”
FYI, Smarty Plants recently bestowed the title “director of cool shit” on L.A. rapper and producer Open Mike Eagle.
Quick Hit
- The WSJ says the latest pot stock crash, along with declines in other trendy sectors, evokes the dot-com era.
