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OCS shows the passion of legacy-to-legal ‘Trailblazers’

By Justin Crann
October 3, 2023
The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) is hoping to get people buzzing about legal producers with its new campaign.
Called “Trailblazers,” the effort was developed with Cleansheet Communications and showcases seven different people involved in Ontario’s legalized cannabis industry, from producers to retailers. Each of the seven featured people has a background in the “legacy” – or pre-legalization – market.
“We reached out to our partners in the legal cannabis industry and invited them to showcase their passion and dedication to service consumers,” explains Dave Rewak, senior director of marketing and consumer insights for the OCS. “The response exceeded our expectations.”
The goal is to appeal to people who have not yet been converted into consumers of legal cannabis and to shift perceptions of legal cannabis by showing potential consumers how many producers have transitioned to and are thriving in the new marketplace.

Though recreational cannabis was legalized for sale in 2018 – with edibles and beverages following the next year – converting consumers from the illicit market has remained a challenge for licensed producers and retailers, due in part to perceptions of price and quality. When OCS ran its first ad campaign in 2021, it was about people who were still buying cannabis from “a guy who knows a guy,” using meat as a stand-in to show the absurdity of not buying from retailers and producers consumers can trust.

The new campaign takes a more personable approach, aiming to show even the most knowledgeable connoisseur that the people producing and selling legalized cannabis have just as high standards.

“Legacy cannabis customers may not realize that legal brands are grown, curated and sold by people who truly care about the consumers’ cannabis experience,” explains Scott Shymko, creative director at Cleansheet. “[This campaign] opens the door for people to see what’s going on in legal cannabis, as not everyone gets to see where it grows or understand the personalities behind it.”

The campaign consists of more than 200 pieces of media spread across social and digital, alongside a 60-second hero spot for cinema, a 30-second cutdown of the hero, and seven 15-second and 6-second spots to run across an integrated array of age-gated channels.

Media production was handled by Bestlight, while Initiative is handling the planning and buying. The campaign is running in two eight-week flights, one beginning this month, and the other in February 2024.