Ceria Brewing Co. —— The Illegal Ad aka “The Weed Playlist”

Here’s how we created an outdoor campaign for cannabis-infused beer in California, where it’s illegal to use the words “cannabis” and “beer” in the same ad. We

————Spotify Extension + Out of Home

In California, it’s illegal to use the words “cannabis” and “beer” in the same ad. So in order to tell people about Ceria, a canabis-infused beer, we had to get crafty.

We got around the law by creating a Spotify playlist whose song titles, when read in order, said what our ad legally couldn’t. Then, we applied Spotify’s native QR code technology to a series of wild postings that went up around Los Angeles, inviting people to engage with the ads. To access the playlist, all people had to do was take out their phone, open the Spotify app, and scan the QR code on the poster.

With a zero dollar ad spend, a minuscule production budget, and a product we were legally prohibited from describing in ads, we were able to create awareness for this relatively unknown brand of cannabis-infused craft beer in Los Angeles, a crucial but saturated market within the cannabis industry.

****Shortlisted for One Show Awards in the following categories****
Direct Marketing —— Non-traditional & Guerilla Marketing
Out of Home —— Innovation in Out of Home