How Billboards Became the Cannabis Industry’s Ad Darling

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In a (successful) effort to stir up media attention for an Arizona legalization initiative, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol this week put up Mothers Day-themed billboards in Phoenix and Tucson.

The ads turn the typical parental cannabis conversation on its head. “Have you talked to your parents about marijuana?” they ask.

As sticky as the slogan might be, the blast is the latest example of a broader trend. And in this case it’s not the message, it’s the medium.

Billboards have fallen out of favor among many in the advertising industry in recent years, largely because digital options offer more flexibility in terms of targeting users and tracking the efficacy of ad campaigns. But because cannabis businesses are excluded from paid advertisements on popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google, billboards offer an actionable alternative.

Not long ago, putting cannabis on such public display raised more than...

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