Imagine Pot Was Legal. How Would You Brand It?

Coming from a product that can get you arrested as well as a history of highly variable cost and unknown quality and source, I would push safety, quality and consistency as main selling points.

"Our marijuana is grown in the rolling hills of Upstate New York - a region which has a long history of quality agriculture. We guarantee that our pot, containing 3.5% THC by weight, will give you a smooth and pleasant high that is a hallmark of Femur brand marijuana."

I would use a panda. A cool panda, but not too cool so that children will get confused. Because, remember, stay in school.

From Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle:

  To inspire himself, he lit up a marijuana cigarette, 
  excellent Land-O-Smiles brand.

Of course, this was in an alternative universe where the Axis powers won World War II...

Why should we expect pot to be packaged, branded, or distributed any differently than cigarettes or beer? The truth lies somewhere between those two, with a few tweaks.

I'd expect pre-rolled joints to be kept in small packages with large warning labels and sold from behind the counter, exactly like cigarettes. "Loose" pot would likely be sold the same way. Habitual smokers would just walk up and ask for their brand.

Like beer, there would be "grow-houses" analogous to breweries. You could go take a tour, order some <strike>bar food</strike> munchies, and your favorite designer strand. Casual, or "sophisticated" smokers would endlessly debate the various aspects of the high and experience.

I think the more important question, and the unique part, is what to do about the paraphernalia? I don't foresee Walmart carrying bongs anytime soon. There would likely be more head shops springing up, with few big, existing players opting to go for that market for image reasons. This may change over a longer period of time.

Decrim > Legal

Somethings are better to remain/become a cottage industry.

This is one. While these prototypes would fit what I imagine the packaging a cottage industry cannabis operation would produce, if there were the impetus to move the product out of its current packaging, I shudder to think what the marketers for the likes of mass-produced/consumed beers would come up with.

Also, I imagine the cognitive dissonance of the anti-drug commercials, like the one with pot smokers hitting the child on a bike while pulling away from a drive-thru window contrasted with commercials touting the virtues and benefits of legal pot would be too much for some to handle.

So for these reasons, and others -

Decrim > Legal

I'd suggest famous and successful people who used it. "Thomas Jefferson" brand with a picture of his Declaration. "Mr. X" brand with a picture of the cosmos. I'm sure you could find a bunch of more recent celebrity endorsements, too.

I would... I would uh... oh man, I forgot. I would... can I borrow a 20 from you? I'm so hungry, dude. I got... wow! Oh I remember... wait, what are we talking about?

When I look at the other suggestions there seems to be this idea that your Mom and Dad are suddenly going to start smoking pot if it's legal. I doubt that. So the ideas that mimic Coke or Beer branding don't do much for me.

If it were me I'd target the younger audience and use humor. Shoot for the energy drink audience who've gotten themselves so hyped up that they probably need it. Maybe use some of the footage from those old 50s films where everyone ends up dead at the end from pot use. Then follow it with a tag line like "Marijuana...It's not just for crazy people who jump out of windows anymore!"

I admit, I do love the back of the box in the article. There's some real mileage to be gotten out of "Alcohol is way more dangerous". But I can't see using that in the initial marketing since any decision to legalize would be preceded by a long debate that would certainly put those points in the public concious.

tongue in cheek but sublime:

http://www.metafilter.com/72961/Harshing-your-mellow#2168021

Realistically speaking? I think Big Pot is likely to pay rappers to hawk it in their videos to "adults of a legal age" snort.

Yeah, yeah, I know legalization advocates think that pot is likely to be grown primarily by local artisans and not by violent drug gangs, as it is currently, or commercial agriculture operations feeding into megabrands like all legal mind-altering substances. That is because legalization advocates have an enormous capacity for self-deception, quite possibly helped by the fact that they are stoned.

At the current clinics they often distribute it in these pseudo-medical test tubes that are highly amusing... The bottom line is if they legalized, there's no real need to market anything but the dispensaries giving it out.... I think it would really depend on the type, you can see this happening already - vapor room in SF advertising a place to smoke up, other places advertising good prices or delivery services... that's an appropriately rambling response to this particular topic.... oh look a cheeto!

News about pot legalization and stories like these seem to be hitting a feverish level lately. Are we on the verge of seeing some real changes on this front?

You'd have to associate it with companion products, not just the obvious junk foods but also things like music. I could easily see record stores and concert concessions being major retailers of marijuana.

There was a novel about this 30+ years ago. _Acapulco Gold_, maybe?

An interesting exercise in theory, though I can only imagine the last 'brand' as ever actually hitting the shelves. The rest of it just ain't practical..

A related thought: I guess Coca-Cola, with their "Coke is it!" ad campaigns, might begin to re-brand themselves...

"SkunkWorks - When the free world depends on your creativity, Skunk Works!"

'electric smoke'

If a bunch of supermodels were to come to your house and have sex with you, which kind of condoms would you use?!

Cross that bridge when you get to it ;-)

Pot is already effectively (though not officially) legal in Holland. Just look to how Dutch coffeshops have gone about branding and marketing their products.

Also, you might want to open any issue of High Times. They advertise a million hemp and pot-related products, many of which could just as well be advertising pot itself.

Hopefully Pot will be legal in the USA so the rest of the world (especially china) can take over world domination :)