Campaigns about censorship and justice took home two of the four Grand Clios bestowed at the Clio Cannabis Awards in Las Vegas on Thursday night, while two other Grand winners focused on experiential and a fun consumer-product partnership.
Below, see more about all four Grand winners. And to see all of this years winners—including gold, silver and bronze—visit cliocannabisawards.com.
Weedmaps, #SaveBrockOllie
Entrant Company: Weedmaps
Grand Clio: Social Media
Weedmaps started a conversation about cannabis censorship with this ingenious social media campaign, where a personified stalk of broccoli named "Brock Ollie" became a stand-in for cannabis on Weedmaps' social media pages. The point being that, for brands that don't want their social feeds flagged and shut down, showing broccoli is a "safe" alternative to showing cannabis flower—though as Brock himself points out, we should be talking about why cannabis content is getting censored in the first place.
As part of the campaign, Weedmaps changed all of its social bio/descriptions to read "#SaveBrockOllie." It also created original photos and scenes that replaced cannabis with broccoli—broccoli florets in a grinder, in jars, joint papers, and much more. The brand even created a @broccolimaps Instagram account to further expand the comedic campaign.
Click the images to enlarge and scroll through:
Missouri's Own Edibles x Old Vienna Red Hot Riplets
Entrant Company: Show-Me Organics
Grand Clio: Partnerships & Collaborations
Local Missouri cannabis brand Vivid launched a new line of edibles, called Missouri's Own, to celebrate the state's rich botanical diversity and culinary creativity. The goal was to celebrate the state's unique flavors, evoke Missouri pride, and attract attention through partnerships with beloved local brands—most notably, with snack maker Old Vienna, which released a cannabis-infused version of its Red Hot Riplets chips.
BVG, 'The BVG Hempticket'
Entrant Company: Jung von Matt AG
Grand Clio: Experience/Activation
BVG, Berlin's public transport company, wanted to reduce stress and make traveling home for Christmas relaxing. So, the agency Jung von Matt created the BVG Hempticket, an edible public-transit ticket—drizzled with hemp oil, extracted from the seeds of the cannabis plant—that could be eaten after the last ride of a stressful day.
AROYA, 'Freedom Grams'
Entrant Company: Serviceplan Germany
Grand Clio: Social Good
Freedom Grams—founded by AROYA and GABY Inc. along with nonprofit Last Prisoner Project—is a new cannabis brand that makes consumers aware that others are still in prison for possessing amounts of cannabis they can legally buy today. From the packaging, the stories unfold through AR and on a website, urging action such as signing petitions, contacting senators, and joining local groups.