The brand wanted to “join in on the fun” and heat surrounding the Olympics this summer and “leverage this cultural moment,” per Katty Pien, vice president of marketing for BIC North America.
The Snoop-Martha-BIC relationship began in 2021, and the brand credits the alliance with consistent sales bumps and amped consumer engagement to the tune of “significant traffic to BIC.com and billions of media impressions,” according to Pien.
A campaign called “Bic Lights Up America” called for consumers to help find Snoop’s missing lighter in places like Pottsville, Penn., and Blunt, Calif. BIC credits the 2023 effort with generating a 64% sales increase year over year for EZ Reach, along with boosting share at key retailers across food, drug and mass merchandisers.
4/20 and beyond
Previous creative has reveled in the oddball friendship between the Hollywood luminaries and made hay of Snoop’s well-known stoner rep. A spring 2024 campaign called “Slow Burn Sessions” was pegged to the cannabis holiday, April 20, featuring four hours and 20 minutes worth of chill content. Separately, a limited-edition merchandise program dropped “Best Buds” crossbody bags.
And speaking of weed culture, Willie Nelson has joined the duo on several occasions, with plenty of puns in the ad copy about lighting up.
“Lit Games” will get paid media and social support through the end of August on connected TV, Meta, TikTok and YouTube, and both stars will post the content on their high-traffic personal channels.