The product, believed to be the first commercially available wing sauce from a cannabis brand, takes its place within the Good News history of short-term holiday-centric goodies such as its Pride-themed multi-flavored edibles and upcoming “Afternoon Delight” vapes and disposable pens for Valentine’s Day.
Good News’ condiment also follows in the footsteps of Kiva’s THC-spiked gravy for Thanksgiving, as weed brands increasingly put their twist on mainstream consumer holidays.
Doing an end-run
Cresco’s eye-catching stunt comes as cannabis brands continue to face heavy restrictions on paid advertising, including bans on major social platforms like TikTok, Google and Meta.
The industry—which is still federally prohibited, although legal in 40 states—is shut out of any formal marketing around the Big Game, including on-air commercials. Two brands have tried, and failed, to get their spots included in recent telecasts—Weedmaps’ instant classic starring Brock Ollie and Acreage Holdings’ heart-tugging public-service announcement were both turned down by TV networks and the NFL.
Some brands, like Hollywood-favorite weed soda Cann, have gone guerrilla with out-of-home campaigns critical of the rampant alcohol advertising during the program. Industry executives have also pointed to sports betting as another regulated category with multiple Big Game appearances.
Flag on the play
Sidling up to the Super Bowl in any way has to be carefully handled, according to Howard Schacter, chief communications officer at cannabis multistate operator MariMed.
“There are IP (intellectual property) issues and if we’re going to be taken seriously as an industry, we have to act like any other category,” Schacter said, noting that Super Bowl trademarks are off limits to brands not formally linked with the NFL.
That said, Super Bowl-inspired campaigns can be good strategic moves because they “take advantage of a milestone cultural moment as it’s happening to build some brand visibility and traffic.”
