Legal restrictions concerning cannabis advertising in Canada didn’t deter agency Angry Butterfly from creating a campaign for cannabis retailer Stok’d. 

Its solution: Rather than directly promote the business, Angry Butterfly created “Next to Stok’d,” a geotargeted campaign about Stok’d’s neighboring businesses. 

Stok’d partnered with three stores—a nail salon, a bookstore and an electrical shop—near its locations to create three age-gated online videos promoting those businesses. 

Scripts for the ads used language common in the cannabis community. For instance, an ad for Nu Nail Beauty Spa opened with the line “Looking for the dopest nails in town?” 

Another ad for Cliffside Village Books teased the idea of the existential questions that might emerge while high on marijuana.

And a third spot, a partnership with Spectrum Electrical, featured Stok’d merchandise in the background. 

Each ad gave a glimpse into the unassuming small businesses—their interiors and exteriors—while angling shots to reveal Stok’d locations or merchandise nearby, and ending with a call to action for people to visit the business, which is located “next to Stok’d.” 

The strategic approach allowed Stok’d to sneak past social platform filters, out-of-home and radio restrictions without breaking any laws. “The trickiest part was while we thought this could work, we weren’t entirely sure until the ads went live and passed through all the different filters. We had plan B and C ready to go, just in case,” Bernice Lo, executive creative director at Angry Butterfly, told Ad Age when the campaign launched.

The campaign was a win-win: Stok’d raised awareness about its locations while sharing its platform with other small businesses. The brand also gained earned media interest from publications and cannabis supporters after the campaign’s launch. 

Stok’d also saw a 29% increase in online customers, a 26% jump in in-store customers and a 12% spike in revenue, according to Angry Butterfly.