Cannabis companies unveil plan for ad rules
Cannabis companies lay out proposed advertising guidelines
Canada’s biggest marijuana companies say that sex, violence and hard-partying dogs should not be used in pitching potential customers on legalized cannabis.
The Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Branding — an alliance of 17 licensed marijuana producers, including Canopy Growth Corp. and Aurora Cannabis Inc. — published those and other proposed guidelines Wednesday for the branding and marketing of recreational pot.
Arguing they need to be able to promote themselves in a way that lets them fend off black market sales without targeting youth, the producers say their ad framework could come into effect after the federal government’s July 2018 target date for the legalization of recreational cannabis.
“The development of branding and promotional guidelines was underpinned by the principle that legal, licensed, cannabis companies — whether they be small, medium or large producers — must be allowed to explain to consumers why the products they develop are better and safer than those offered by the illegal market,” the document says.
The coalition’s proposed rules would apply to commercials for legalized recreational cannabis and its related accessories and services. Under those guidelines, producers would ensure their websites have some way of verifying a person’s age, and ads would not be aimed at young people.
The proposed guidelines also suggest there would probably be no pitchmen like “Spuds MacKenzie,” a bull terrier used in advertising campaigns for Bud Light beer.
The framework says ads “cannot depict characters, animals, real or fictional that may appeal particularly to young persons.”
There is another proposed prohibition on ads containing “activities or content that may appeal particularly to young persons.”
The document also says producers would “not use strain names that are sexual in nature, sexist or present violent imagery for any newly developed strains of cannabis.”
The producers say Ottawa has not endorsed their guidelines, and the proposals actually go against what was recommended by the federal government’s legalization task force, which suggested plain packaging on cannabis products that would include just the price, strength, and names of the company and strain. The task force also pushed for strict advertising rules, similar to the tobacco industry.
Under the government’s proposed legislation, a section on promotion could allow for licensed producers and sellers to advertise cannabis information and brands in direct communications to people 18 and older, as well as in places where young people aren’t allowed to go. It could also allow for information about availability and price to be promoted at the point of sale, if the person is authorized to sell cannabis.
But Ottawa has yet to finalize those ad rules for recreational cannabis, and the ones proposed by the coalition would also be a departure from those for medical marijuana, which is already legal in Canada. Companies can only promote the name of their company, strains, THC levels and the price of a product through social media and email, said Ray Gracewood, chief commercial officer at New Brunswick-based medical marijuana producer Organigram.
But the producers’ proposed ad framework for recreational cannabis contains several provisions they say are tougher than rules for alcohol, such as restricting advertising to media and social media platforms where at least 70 per cent of the expected audience would be over 18 years of age, the federal government’s intended minimum age for legally selling someone cannabis.
This would essentially remove the ability of pot producers to advertise on television or billboards, Gracewood said, as neither of those promotional channels are likely able to guarantee that 70 per cent of their viewership is above the age of 18.
“Right now, within the public space, beverage alcohol companies can advertise on billboards and they can sponsor Hockey Night in Canada,” Gracewood said. “We’re not of the view that that’s an appropriate advertising opportunity within the cannabis space today.”