Cannabis has been illegal in the United States for 80 years but now legalization is creating opportunities for brands. We were challenged by cannabis retailer MedMen to create the first major ad campaign in history. It is nearly impossible to reach a mass audience because major media platforms like TV networks, Youtube, Facebook, Google, and Instagram prohibit any ad placements for cannabis brands. Therefore we enlisted a mainstream director Spike Jonze and activist/actor Jesse Williams to tell a provocative story in a manner that could not be ignored, setting the bar for advertising in this new industry.

MedMen has been a leader in commercial cannabis bringing this new industry into the mainstream. But cannabis is still illegal federally in the U.S., and although a majority of Americans have called for legalization, a stigma still exists around the consumption. MedMen challenged us to create the first major commercial film in this category, with the goal of destigmatizing cannabis use. The objective of the New Normal campaign was to start a new dialogue around cannabis use and establish MedMen as a thought leader in this new category.

To normalize cannabis we first had to contextualize its history. Therefore, we distilled decades of American history, from George Washington’s hemp farm to Woodstock, into the familiar medium of a museum diorama. Moving through this space the film continually challenges the audience with scenes detailing the injustices of prohibition cast with real people who lived through it, culminating in an optimistic vision of the future where cannabis is no longer stigmatized.

Up until now cannabis advertising in the U.S. has been dominated by vague lifestyle and product messages. With this campaign MedMen has become the first brand to speak to the complexities of the struggle for normalization, creating a meaningful new conversation in this emerging industry.

Strategically MedMen wanted to target “cannabis curious” consumers who typically feel stigmatized when walking into a cannabis retail store. Therefore, the brief was to normalize not just the MedMen brand, but the category as a whole. So we set out to tell the history of cannabis prohibition in a manner that consumers could understand the whole story and their place in it. Each chapter of the historical story reveals that prohibition in America was based on racial undertones, government propaganda, and unfair sentencing. By showing the plant itself is not the source of the stigma, but rather motivated by politics, race, and religion, the viewer feels a sense of empathy and normalcy for cannabis.

We brought the idea of 80 years of cannabis prohibition to life by building and shooting a massive museum diorama. Each set featured a pivotal moment of prohibition and the lives of that unjust cannabis laws have upended. Key to the execution was casting. Every person featured in the diorama was a non-actor who had suffered under prohibition including the cops, soldiers suffering from PTSD, entrepreneurs, and those who were harshly judged. The steadicam shots fluidly moved between the history of what once was and an optimistic future.

To-date the New Normal campaign has generated 1.5 Billion media impressions. As of 4/11, the anthem video has received 10 million media impressions with an 86% video completion rate. In addition to media and video impressions, The New Normal has entered 5,310 social conversations with 96% showcasing an overall positive sentiment.