Watch: Cannabis ad a pitch-perfect parody of dire pharmaceutical commercials

Published: Nov 9, 2017, 6:51 pm • Updated: Nov 10, 2017, 8:09 am

By Bruce Kennedy, The Cannabist Staff

You may have heard this on TV before: “Ask your doctor if _______ is right for you.” Now here’s a cannabis twist.

Oregon start-up Briteside enlisted a Los Angeles advertising agency to create some digital marketing for its new delivery service, which serves various dispensaries and provides their customers a means to order and have cannabis products delivered directly to their home.

But the online ad is also a pitch-perfect parody of all those relentless commercials for pharmaceutical products we’ve all been exposed and subjected to over the years.

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It starts with a young suburbanite frowning as she deals with life’s daily woes — issues like stress, bills and muscle pain.

Then comes a soothing voiceover: “Sometimes you need to stop worrying and take a deep breath. Sometimes, you need cannabis.”

The ad’s music becomes upbeat as the protagonist makes her online order.

“Choose the experience you want and we’ll send you the dankest herb,” the voiceover continues, as the women’s manically happy response to her delivery makes the Briteside delivery worker look a bit worried.

The video then switches to stereotypical images of peaceful happiness as the voiceover goes into that mile-a-minute reading of disclaimers typical in pharmaceutical ads.

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But instead of the usual and often alarming rapid-fire warning list, this commercial notes that side-effects of cannabis “may include euphoria, increased appetite, uncontrollable giggles, elevated sensitivity to musical dopeness and reduced anxiety.”

And it adds that the active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) “may also induce feelings of existential well-being and relentless optimism.”

AdWeek reported that the folks behind the ad at L.A.-based Sandwich Video pored over pharmaceutical ads on YouTube to get just the right tone for their parody.

“We didn’t want this to come across as a really well-produced joke that wasn’t to be taken seriously,” agency founder Adam Lisagor told the marketing trade publication. “If people thought they were just watching a funny video and didn’t think it was a real product, that would be the worst thing to happen.”

The voiceover wraps up with: “Ask your doctor if cannabis is right for you,” as the main character laughs uproariously. “It probably is.”

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Topics: advertising, delivery, marketing, Oregon, pharmaceuticals, true story Bruce Kennedy