One of the most popular cigarette brands in the world, Newport Cigarettes, announced they will start manufacturing marijuana cigarettes, and with that, they’ll join the marijuana legalization. The cigarettes will be marketed under the ‘Newport Nirvana brand, and are planned to be available for sale in Washington and Colorado through marijuana-licensed outlets.
Lawrence Harrison, Reynolds American Inc.’s Chief Marketing Executive, reported that the company has been monitoring the market for some time as they were excited by the idea of marketing cannabis. The company decided to participate in the cannabis market once the late legalization initiatives were won in Washington and Colorado.
He continued to explain their plan of growing natural hemp, for which the company purchased thousands of acres of land. In order to streamline the supply lines, the company began to set up distribution across South and North American territories.
The tobacco company plans a $7 billion budget for advertising the new brand ‘Newport Nirvana’ since currently, promotions and advertisements of tobacco products are banned in the U.S.
They are now negotiating with major publishers and networks to start marketing their new product to people in the 2nd half of 2017.
You can now see the brand being advertised on billboards and magazines in Washington and Colorado.
Lawrence Harrison reported that the company plans to start airing commercials with celebrities like Seth Rogan, Snoop Dogg, and Bill Maher around January 2017.
But, the advertisements will be only aired in Washington and Colorado, as marijuana is legal only in these states.