HOLLYWOOD, Calif–With the 2019 awards season underway, cannabis branding is coming down the red carpet alongside mainstream luxury and entertainment brands, basking in the Hollywood limelight.
Cannabis delivery service Eaze was noticeably a red carpet sponsor at Heaven 2019, the annual fundraiser for nonprofit organization The Art of Elysium, on January 5, in Los Angeles. Held the weekend of the Golden Globes award show, this year’s event was star-studded, attended by celebrities and stars including Kris Jenner, Mel Gibson, Dita Von Teese, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Jennifer Garner, a mob of super models, and many more A-listers. Images from the red carpet feature the Eaze logo.
The Art of Elysium supports local populations including “medically fragile children, teens, adults, seniors, those dealing with social, emotional and mental health issues, and the homeless” by pairing volunteer artists with in-need populations for programs and fundraising.
“For us, sponsoring this event was less about sponsoring a red carpet event and more about finding a philanthropy partner we really believed in,” Eaze Director of Social Impact Jennifer Lujan told mgretailer.
“While Art of Elysium is designed to help people in the arts derive inspiration, they do it by supporting dozens of programs throughout California. In 2018 alone they worked with nearly 30,000 individuals across all of their programs,” Lujan described. “These programs support all walks of life, from children with chronic illness to homeless adults, and everything in-between. Working with AOE isn’t just supporting the arts–it’s supporting the entire community.
“What The Art of Elysium has done over the years is simply incredible and we felt very fortunate that (AOE founder) Jennifer Howell and her team wanted us to participate,” she added.
Eaze team members have also volunteered time with AOE for other projects, according to Lujan. The association with AOE is a win-win for all the participants and sponsors, and led to a unique branding opportunity.
“One of our favorite things about AOE was that they had a program for everything. So, whatever your calling is there’s a good chance AOE has a community and a cause you can get behind,” Lujan said.
While Eaze said it would be cool to do the Oscars, they aren’t scheduled for other 2019 awards season events. They were able to offer post-Heaven party bags to attendees that included a selection of products from their CBD-only menu of products available for delivery through Eaze Wellness.
Cannabis brand Lord Jones also added some celebrity swagger to their promotional efforts last week when their High CBD Formula Body Lotion was featured as a must-have for tired celebrity feet.
E! Style expert Zanna Roberts Rassi mentioned Lord Jones CBD lotion to entertainment news outlet Page Six, while dishing on this year’s Golden Globe awards show. Rassi claimed the product is Oscar award-winning actress Michelle Williams’ favorite red carpet pain reliever.
Celebrity stylist Karla Welch also gave an enthusiastic Instagram shout-out to @TheLordJones for the 2017 Golden Globes red carpet, where several of her clients were able to withstand hours of uncomfortable shoes and stiletto heels, with help from the CBD-infused formula.
As cannabis brands seek regulatory-friendly promotional opportunities and mainstream placement next to prominent brands, celebrities obviously get lots of eyeballs and can influence trends, as they have for the fashion and beauty industries, among others.
So, get ready to see more and more cannabis brands sponsoring events, getting into gift bags, and popping up wherever cultural influencers can be found–and expect to see more show biz folk getting into and opening up about cannabis.
Just yesterday, Wellhaus, a CBD health and wellness pop-up announced that it would kick off the 2019 Sundance Film Festival with the debut of its installation. Formed in a partnership between event company Axcess Entertainment and CBD product producer Charlotte’s Web, Wellhaus will feature “panel discussions, daytime experiential activities, happy hours, networking events, nightly dinners with The Herbal Chef and the CBD infusion bar open from noon-1am.”
Wellhaus is the first CBD-related health and wellness concept pop-up for the iconic film festival venue. The pop-up will also make an appearance in April, in Indio, California, at that convergence of all things hip, Coachella, followed by stints in Malibu, Las Vegas, Austin, Toronto, Miami, and New York.
(Photo credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com)
