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Ontario Cannabis Store pokes fun at illicit weed

Published on October 12, 2021 by David Wylie

The Ontario Cannabis Store is taking a lighthearted jab at the illicit market.

In a new video ad, the provincial cannabis dealer compares unidentified raw meat to illegally sold cannabis.

It opens with a portly unkempt black-market meat dealer walking into a nice home, pulling out a Ziploc bag of what appears to be steak.

He’s greeted by the home owner, who’s initially excited about the contents of the bag.

“This is some meat heaven right here,” says the dealer.

The buyer’s giddiness over the contents quickly wears off as he starts asking questions about what kind of meat it is.

Watch the conversation play out in the video:

The slogan, “You wouldn’t buy meat like this,” appears, followed by the query, “Why buy cannabis like this?”

The YouTube video is currently unlisted and has the comments disabled. Posted on Oct. 6, it’s so far gotten more than 1,600 views.

The OCS has started circulating the video on its Twitter channel, saying: “At Ontario’s Authorized Cannabis Stores, you’ll never be left wondering what you’re getting, because every product is rigorously tested. Certainty. It’s the new deal.”

The reaction on Reddit’s r/theOCS community is mixed, with the original poster wondering if this is the first real OCS commercial.

“I don’t think people really understood what they are trying to say with this ad,” says one commentor.  “They aren’t advertising to the people who have vast knowledge of specific strains or who already spend hundreds a month with them already. They are obviously advertising to people whose misconception of modern weed is “meet up with some dude I knew in high school” or those whose only weed experience is just getting something random in a bag.”

Others called out the cannabis store over some of the legal market products, which leaves the strain-specific details off of the packaging.

“I get where the OCS is coming from making this ad, but their information isn’t necessarily that accurate all the time either. Many LP’s use altered strain names for their products and make it a guessing game trying to figure out what you’ve got,” says another commentor.

“Names like Indigo Daze or Subway Scientist aren’t strain names. Consumers NEED transparency and information about the products. Not just gimmick names that make it more confusing for everyone involved.”

The OCS itself has made a post on its website about the ad.