Anyone who has spent time around cannabis probably knows at least one story that begins with, “I may have taken too much.” Chicago-born Herb Light is turning those stories into Halloween entertainment with “ScareBnB,” a new campaign inviting consumers to confess their worst cannabis experiences for the chance to spend a weekend inside one of two reportedly haunted Illinois homes.
Which, admittedly, is an interesting reward for telling the internet about the time an edible convinced you the couch was breathing.
The campaign plays directly into Herb Light’s positioning as a low-dose alternative for people who want the experience without accidentally launching themselves into another dimension. Each can contains just 1mg of THC, allowing the brand to address one of cannabis culture’s most familiar anxieties with humor rather than wellness-speak.
Created by Quality Meats, “ScareBnB” wraps that product truth inside an affectionate mashup of 1980s horror B-movies and old-school Halloween beer advertising. Watch below:
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The call-for-entries film features a collection of monsters sharing their own bad-high stories. Vampires regret gummies. Werewolves discover the dangers of overcommitting to THC pens. Ghosts, goblins, witches, mummies, zombies, and assorted creatures all seem to have learned the same lesson humans have: sometimes more is definitely not better.
The hero film is supported by additional videos and retro poster-style social creative that extends the deliberately throwback light-beer universe Herb Light has been building since launch.
“Anyone who’s dabbled in cannabis has a few horror stories,” said Brian Siedband, Herb Light co-founder. “I personally have way too many – including one night I had to call [Herb Light co-founder] Gordy from a hotel room on a commercial shoot to help me pack luggage for an early morning flight — but thanks to Herb Light, people like me can enjoy the night without being afraid.”
Consumers can enter by sharing their cannabis horror story on Herb Light’s dedicated Instagram contest post or by sending a direct message to @DrinkHerbLight through midnight on October 23.
Two winners will receive two-night stays at reportedly haunted Illinois properties stocked with Herb Light.
One prize sends guests to the Roff Home in Watseka, Illinois, from October 29 through 31. The second offers a stay at the Hideaway House in Lockport from October 30 through November 1. In other words, the campaign’s answer to “I once got so high I thought I saw a ghost” is apparently: great story, now go sleep in a haunted house.
Herb Light was founded by Quality Meats co-founders Gordy Sang and Brian Sied, alongside business partner Jon Sc. The brand has grown quickly.
Herb Light is now available at Binny’s Beverage Depot locations throughout Illinois, along with Chicago retailers and bars including Foxtrot Market, Beer Temple, Sluggers, Bub City and Joe’s. It also ships online to 28 states.
“ScareBnB” follows a string of decidedly Chicago-flavored activations, including a “Yacht Rock on a Yacht” party on Lake Michigan, a “Double Play Koozie” collaboration with former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and Herb Light’s first Beer Pong Classic at Sluggers.
The common thread is pretty clear. Herb Light isn’t trying to market cannabis like medicine or turn consuming it into an elaborate ritual. It is borrowing the language, attitude,tude and cultural shorthand of classic light beer brands and applying it to a new generation of THC beverages.
For Halloween, that means acknowledging something most cannabis advertising would probably rather avoid: sometimes getting high can go spectacularly wrong.
Herb Light would just prefer you keep the horror on the screen.
