Drugs, but no sex, violence or party dogs
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 pandering to 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 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.
Ottawa has yet to finalize its ad rules for recreational cannabis, but the ones proposed by the coalition would be a departure from those for medical marijuana, which is already legal in Canada. Companies can only promote the name of their company and strains, as well as the THC levels and price of a product, through social media and email, said Ray Gracewood, chief commercial officer at New Brunswick-based medical marijuana producer Organigram.
“Within the medical space, there’s very little that we’re allowed to do from an ad perspective,” Gracewood said in an interview. “We’re not allowed to do any form of mass advertising, for example. And we’re not allowed to show any images of product.”
But 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 targeted at young people.
With that in mind, the proposed guidelines 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 framework contains several provisions that producers 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.”
The guidelines also set out that ads would only promote different brands of marijuana, not the drug in general, and that they “cannot attempt to influence adult non-consumers to try cannabis.”
“Advertising can promote a brand’s or strain’s flavour and taste, aspects (eg. day or night usage), and may make factual comparative claims regarding nontherapeutic product attributes,” the proposed rules say.
Commercials wouldn’t show people smoking marijuana either, as they “cannot imply consumption,” or tell people to buy cannabis. Ads also shouldn’t tie cannabis and driving together, the producers say.
The producers’ guiding principles say ads would include statements about responsible use, and that there is an expectation spots would abide by the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, which requires commercials to be truthful, including when it comes to the price of a product.