The Future is Here

I’ve seen the future and this is what it looks like. It’s pretty clear at this point that cannabis legalization, at least for medical purposes, is happening and cannabis is becoming commoditized. For those of you that didn't take marketing 101, this is when branding becomes especially important. It's time to start approaching the process of branding cannabis in a way that is more sophisticated than the average college kid playing xbox might. I’ve read about dispensaries in the bay area that aspire to be the Dean and Deluca of the business in terms of the overall experience. This, however, is on another level altogether.

Tebow Founds, Marijuana Dispensed, Moms Appreciated

- Tim Tebow now has a Foundation.

- Even medicinal marijuana shops need ad campaigns.

- P&G and Walmart love moms. The same way. In similar commercials.

- Who cares about your best ad. We want to see your first ad. And so does Freshman Ads, a new blog that highlights the first efforts of creatives the world over.

- Face it. Guys are assholes.

- Good God! Is there enough business babble speak in this Beet.tv interview with MediaVest's Amanda Richman?

- Tums tames overactive chicken. Saves guy from getting a a wing to the face.

Quaker City Mercantile is doing work for Silverpeak Apothecary, a medical marijuana dispensary in Aspen.

Considering that marijuana is now legal for medical use in 14 different states and generates $1 billion nationwide in revenue a year, execs at QCM had no problem seeing Silverpeak as legitimate clients. Plus, after working with RJ Reynolds for 17 years, they know a thing or two about brand building in the combustibles category.

While other agencies have turned their backs on the immense opportunities in the medical marijuana industry, for fear of pissing off other corporate clients, QCM welcomes them to their client roster with open arms.

From Bikini Bandits To Cannabis Wizards: The Gyro-To-Quaker City Mercantile Shift Explained In Just One Client

Back in the day, Steve Grasse’s Gyro was an ad agency that specialized in THE EXTREME, MAAAAAN! They did work for ESPN and MTV and Camel, and maybe, in some small way, contributed to the temporary Mountain Dew-ization of your worldview. (It’s OK. It was your chain wallet phase. We all had one.) Then, one day last year, with little fanfare, they changed their name to Quaker City Mercantile and began specializing in gin, that Root stuff, and now, in Aspen, the Cannabis Wizards. But it’s cool. If we are to be honest, this is just the advertising-world version of the change we’ve all been living through these last few years. Don’t bogart that shit, Grasse. Pass it over and turn up the Nick Drake.