Passengers flying Virgin America this summer will have the opportunity to see the first ever in-flight commercial for a canna-business. The commercial was created by WikiLeaf, who offer an app and website that can track and compare the prices of cannabis products at legal retail outlets around the country. In the ad, a woman packing for a flight decides to leave her stash of weed at home, and chooses instead to search for cannabis products at her destination using WikiLeaf's app.
Wikileaf CEO Dan Nelson explained to MERRY JANE that the company hopes that the commercial will help de-stigmatize and normalize the cannabis industry. Wikileaf VP of content Kate Manson worked to position the ad “outside of the traditional space – cannabis blogs, websites, festivals, etc. – to reach a more main stream audience,” Nelson said.
The commercial also serves as a PSA, reminding passengers to leave their cannabis at home. All airports operate under federal laws, so bringing cannabis products onto a flight is still illegal, even if traveling from one canna-legal state to another. “We understand that much of the country is looking to legal cannabis states to see how things are going,” Nelson said. “So we wanted to send a message of responsibility – leave your weed at home.”
Virgin America will be airing the commercial on all domestic flights from the summer until the early fall, reaching approximately 7.8 million passengers.
