From the brand that packaged cannabis as a premium liquor for the 2023 holidays, comes a new, even more secretive way to gift ganja.
Livelywhich has many devoted fans among Missouri cannaseurs, has launched limited-edition containers inspired by wine bottles and video game controllers. Opening these Trojans reveals the real gift: three premium Vivid flower pots hidden inside.
The seasonal hit, complete with marketing that mimics vintage beer advertising and classic Norman Rockwell imagery, comes as cannabis has spread further into the mainstream than ever before, with 40 states legalizing its sales in some form and 88% of Americans supporting an end to prohibition.
Yet old, stubborn biases persist, with consumer ideas driving the Vivid campaign, according to Tony BillmeyerCMO of parent company Show-Me Organics.
Billmeyer and his team said they’ve heard countless stories about the “elaborate efforts” consumers go to to redeem cheap holiday weed. Some people hide in closets to package pre-rolls, tinctures and vapes, while others find excuses to leave family gatherings to give a cannabis gift, he said.
“We don’t think people should have to sneak around,” Billmeyer told ADWEEK. “So we’re empowering them to proudly give these gifts in front of their loved ones at their holiday gatherings.”
Anti-tension
Finding a clever disguise for grass, making it look like a harmless, everyday object, could be considered a hedge. But it could also be a proactive tension diffuser at a traditionally stressful time of year, made even more tense by the recent contentious presidential election.
Cannabis brand Vivid draws on classic beer advertising and Norman Rockwell imagery for its seasonal hit.Show me organic products
In other words, ultra-conservative relatives won’t know anything when siblings treat each other to bottles of Vivid “wine,” with the cover-up helping to avoid any potential judgment or arguments.
A step forward
Although some significant obstacles remain, particularly in media and marketing, cannabis is now a $40 billion market and a mainstay of the United States. According to the Pew Research Center, 88% of Americans think it should be legal for adults nationwide. Meanwhile, brands and multi-state operators are increasingly well received as sponsors and participants in food festivals, live concerts, concert halls, state fairs and other events.
Despite this momentum, there have been setbacks in 2024, including adult sales ballot measures that recently failed in Florida, South Dakota and North Dakota.
Election results are a wake-up call for the industry to sharpen its education and compliance messages, according to Emily Paxhiamanaging partner of Poseidon, but should not be read “as a harbinger of things to come” as more states continue to move toward legalization.
The Vivid campaign: Produced by freelancers Anthony Simmons and Jordan Bauer, with a tip of the hat to the 2023 work of an independent agency Bandits and friends—debuted last week Green Wednesdaythe restock day before Thanksgiving and the second biggest sales day in the annual weed calendar after April 20.
The data is expected within the week, despite the first indications from the digital player Jane Technologies show a more than 100% jump in Green Wednesday sales compared to the usual Wednesday in November.
