The medical marijuana company Cresco Labs placed a pop-up style vending machine in Chicago Sept. 5 to advocate for alternative pain relief in the opioid epidemic, according to AdWeek.
The vending machine, created by the Chicago-based advertising agency Tom, Dick & Harry Creative Co., dispensed prescription bottles filled with information about Cresco Labs' Opioid Prescription Exchange program. The program encourages patients to consider marijuana over opioid prescriptions for pain management.
Behind the vending machine sat a 20-foot-long "NoBituaries" board, featuring stories of people who overcame opioid addiction by switching to medical marijuana. The ad agency also rolled out a social media campaign using the hashtag "NOpioids" to encourage people to share their experiences experiences with medical marijuana.
"The creativity and attention-getting tactics behind our COPE campaign will help build awareness about using medical cannabis as an alternative to prescription opioids in a very untraditional way," Charlie Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs, told AdWeek. "The awareness this campaign will create will ultimately improve the quality of life for someone who has been suffering with pain."
The marketing move came a day after Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner signed a law permitting medical marijuana to be used as an alternative for opioids.