Giving the Gift of Ganja on the Down-Low Just Got Easier

From the brand that packaged cannabis like top-shelf liquor for the 2023 holidays comes a new—even more covert—way to give the gift of ganja.

Vivid, which has a devoted fan following among Missouri cannaseurs, has launched limited-edition containers modeled after bottles of wine and video game controllers. Opening these Trojan horses reveals the real present: three jars of premium Vivid flower tucked inside.

The seasonal stunt—accompanied by marketing that mimics vintage beer advertising and classic Norman Rockwell imagery—drops as cannabis has spread further into the mainstream than ever before, with 40 states legalizing its sales in some form and 88% of Americans supporting the end of prohibition.

Yet some stubborn old stigmas linger, with consumer insights driving the Vivid campaign, according to Tony Billmeyer, CMO at parent company Show-Me Organics.

Billmeyer and his team said they heard countless stories of the “elaborate effort” that consumers put into exchanging holiday weed on the down-low. Some people hide in closets to wrap pre-rolls, tinctures, and vapes, while others make excuses to leave family gatherings for a cannabis gift handoff, he said.

“We don’t think people should have to sneak around,” Billmeyer told ADWEEK. “So we’re giving them the means to proudly give those gifts right in front of loved ones at their holiday gatherings.”

Tension buster

Coming up with a clever disguise for weed—making it look like a benign, everyday object—could be seen as a hedge. But it could also be a proactive tension diffuser at a traditionally stressful time of year, made more fraught by the recent contentious presidential election.

In other words, ultra-conservative relatives will be none the wiser when siblings gift each other bottles of Vivid “wine,” with the camouflage helping to sidestep any potential judgement or shouting match.

One step forward

Though some significant roadblocks remain—particularly in media and marketing—cannabis is now a $40 billion business and a U.S. mainstay. Per the Pew Research Center, 88% of Americans say they think it should be legal for adults nationwide. Meanwhile, brands and multi-state operators are increasingly welcomed as sponsors and participants at food festivals, live concerts, music venues, state fairs, and other events.

Despite that momentum, there were setbacks in 2024, including ballot measures for adult sales that failed recently in Florida, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

The election results are a wake-up call for the industry to sharpen its educational and compliance messages, according to Emily Paxhia, managing partner at Poseidon, but shouldn’t be read “as a harbinger of things to come” as more states continue to move toward legalization.

Vivid’s campaign—from freelancers Anthony Simmons and Jordan Bauer, with a hat tip to 2023’s work from indie agency Bandits & Friends—debuted for last week’s Green Wednesday, the stock-up day before Thanksgiving and the second biggest sales day on the annual weed calendar next to April 20. 

Data is expected within the week, though early indications from digital player Jane Technologies show a more than 100% jump in Green Wednesday sales versus the usual Wednesday in November.