Jack in the Box Blazes a Trail in Food Marketing With a Weedmaps Partnership

Jack in the Box has never been subtle about its ties to cannabis culture, from its Munchie Meals and Wakey Bakey Hash to its past collaboration with Snoop Dogg’s digital media platform Merry Jane.

The Southern California-based chain also aired a notorious ad in the mid-2000s featuring a clearly stoned dude who was stymied by indecision in the drive-through. Jack, the brand’s wise-cracking namesake, co-starred as a talking dashboard bobblehead, helpfully suggesting the guy order 30 tacos.

For the upcoming weed extravaganza that is April 20, the fast food restaurant plans to dig even further into the cannabis world via an industry-first partnership with Weedmaps.  

Jack in the Box has set up a storefront on Weedmaps, which goes live this weekend, hyping the return of the popular Pineapple Express milkshake and the addition of a pineapple-infused Red Bull drink. 

In doing so, the fast feeder becomes the first food brand to make a media buy on the popular site where cannafans go to research weed strains, locate dispensaries and set up deliveries.

“Some brands dip their toes into 4/20 with a lighter execution—something with a wink and a nod,” Ryan Ostrom, Jack in the Box’s CMO, told Adweek. “We want to put a stake in it and own the moment for quick-service restaurants.”

Knowing the target audience is key, Ostrom said, as is listening to public sentiment as cannabis legalization continues to roll out across the country.

“We understand what’s going on culturally in various states and nationwide, and we’ve done a lot of research with our guests,” Ostrom said. “For a certain segment, 4/20 is an important holiday, and historically we’ve been there.”

Busting stereotypes

An alliance with a mainstream brand is another step toward normalization for Weedmaps, according to the platform’s CMO Randa McMinn.

“To see household brands like Jack in the Box leverage its potential indicates how negative stereotypes around cannabis have evolved,” McMinn told Adweek. “We hope this trailblazing approach charts the way forward for other beloved brands to engage the growing cannabis consumer market effectively.”

Non-cannabis brands have appeared on Weedmaps in the past, with smaller one-time ad buys. The Jack in the Box deal includes a landing page and banner ads, reportedly the most extensive placement from a brand outside the weed ecosystem.

Aiming higher

Jack in the Box’s marketing track record has stirred some controversy—critics took aim at the 2007 commercial and its wasted central character—but it has built credibility with loyalists at the same time.

The brand aims to top previous 4/20 efforts in 2023, continuing to lean into its late-night clientele, which drives a significant amount of the chain’s business and no doubt overlaps with weed aficionados.

Along with the return of the Pineapple Express shake, which sold out quickly during last year’s 4/20 program, the brand has added the Red Bull beverage to its restaurants nationally for a six- to eight-week period. A pineapple-chicken sandwich will join the menu for a limited time at locations in Los Angeles.

Food trucks will take to the roads in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco next Thursday, serving the pineapple shakes with a plethora of embellishments (Locations available via Weedmaps).

The first 100 consumers will get their dessert drinks stuffed with an Instagram-worthy selection of Jack’s food items like onion rings, popcorn chicken, mini tacos and mini pancakes. It’s the brand’s carb-loaded version of an Edible Arrangement dubbed Edible Assortment.

For people not in those California markets, there will be links on Weedmaps to order the shakes and DIY instructions on how to craft the Edible Assortment version at home.

Other media for the promo includes an influencer in the space, the stand-up comic known as Stoney McBlaze, who will be creating original content. Jack himself, the bulbous-headed mascot, will appear in some of the marketing. The brand now works with TBWA\Chiat\Day LA as its lead creative agency.

Next week’s activation, as those that have come before, intends to be a hand-in-glove match of brand personality, strategy and zeitgeist.

“We want to show the uniqueness of Jack and be part of a cultural event where our brand authentically fits,” Ostrom said. “People won’t look at this and say, ‘Why is Jack here?’”