Embarc Dispensaries took first place in Adweek’s Top 10 Cannabis Marketing Campaigns of 2023. The California-based company’s Devil’s Lettuce brand and promotional efforts “superserved the chain’s loyalists, rallied its employees, challenged old stereotypes, broke new ad ground and lightened the mood,” according to the marketing trade publication.
Devil’s Lettuce was “a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the horror film genre while calling attention to the stigma surrounding cannabis consumption,” the company said in a press release. The product launch coincided with Friday the 13th in October, complete with a Hollywood-style trailer, Spotify playlist, Fear the Lettuce website and an assortment of merchandise. The company sold out of the Devil’s Lettuce within 48 hours, before restocking on October 27, just in time for Halloween.
“There’s so much to love about this campaign, developed by a scrappy in-house marketing team at a growing California-based retailer,” Adweek wrote.
Embarc is one of the fastest growing cannabis retail in chains in California, with 14 stores open, including locations in Fresno, Tahoe and Sacramento.
The other nine marketing campaigns to make Adweek’s top 10 were: Show-Me Organics’ creation of the Buoyant Bob musical band for the opening of adult-use sales in Missouri; Cannabis Media Council’s “I’m High Right Now” ad campaign that featured print ads in magazines such as Town & Country and Men’s Health, as well as digital ads through Pornhub; Show-Me Organics’ “Ask Your Doctor” ad that was rejected by local TV stations; Green Thumb Industries’ collaboration with Magnolia Bakery; Green Thumb Industries’ “Thanks, Dick” ad campaign that ran in the Washington Post, among other news outlets; MariMed’s Boston THC Party in protest of Section 280E; “The Pen to Right History” PSA by Last Prisoner Project; Weedmaps’ mention on Tubi’s animated series The Freak Brothers; and Edie Parker’s Gottmik campaign for 4/20.