Branding Cannabis in Canada: Challenges for the Cannabis Act’s Promotion Restrictions

Abstract

Background: This article examines how Canadian cannabis companies promoted their new brands after legalization in late-2018. Analysis: Nearly 4,000 items were collected from the websites and social media of 20 cannabis brands and triangulated with insight from the trade press. The promotional practices are contextualized in two areas: the history of tobacco advertising in Canada, as legal precedent for the Cannabis Act, and theories of branding. Conclusion and implications: Brands are navigating the Cannabis Act’s promotion restrictions by embodying what it means to be a brand in the twenty-first-century media environment. This reveals an incompatibility between regulations and contemporary marketing.