cannabis

For 420, Bic Lights Up With Snoop, Willie And Martha

Lighters go missing all the time. But when the lighter belongs to Snoop Dogg, and he’s been hanging out with Martha Stewart and Willie Nelson, the finger points. So Bic is making Snoop’s missing EZ Reach lighter the focus of a 420-themed contest, asking people to track the weed-loving country star down in cities like Blunt, California; Pottsville, Pennsylvania; Stoneville, North Carolina and Hashtown, Indiana.

The effort is a continuation of the “The Most Borrowed Lighter” effort it launched three months ago, with an out-of-home spin, says Jeany Mui, marketing director, BIC Flame for Life.

The activation starts with a video that steers people to a website where consumers can use an interactive map to look for the lighter in America’s many herb-named towns.

advertisement

advertisement

“Snoop is on a mission to find his stolen lighter, and Martha's helping. They’re inviting everybody to help find his lighter because Willie took it, and he’s now hiding somewhere in the U.S.”

The digital game is supported by physical out-of-home installations, including a giant digital billboard in Times Square. “Consumers have the opportunity to enter sweepstakes and to win merchandise signed by Snoop, Willie and Martha.”

M Booth, Doner CX and Merkley+Partners all worked on the campaign, which used paid and organic media to promote the site. The effort runs through the end of the month.

The errant lighter eventually turns up in Weed, California, with Willie helpfully sitting atop a billboard, identifying himself as the culprit.

Mui says the sweepstakes comes from consumer feedback that this particular lighter, with its short wand, constantly gets nicked.

Of course, the campaign doesn’t say why the trio needs a lighter. Cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, and Mui says that kind of “wink-wink humor is what makes it fun. And there's a lot of things Willie could be borrowing the lighter for,” she says. After all, Nelson turns 90 while the contest is running.

Snoop has his own cannabis brand. And Stewart is famous for selling candles, as well as a line of CBD products.

Cannabis jokes aren’t taboo anymore. “This is a fun holiday, but a little different than Valentine's Day or the 4th of July,” Mui says.

All three stars will promote the effort on their social media channels. Mui says Bic is closely watching engagement metrics and monitoring comments, and is pretty confident the campaign will be a hit. “When Willie posts anything, people just love it.”

Next story loading loading..