Think about it: this is one piece of merch that truly ties-in to the movie. In a meta sort of way. Kevin Smith smokes weed, and makes no bones about it. It features in most of his movies and now the medicinal bud is being used a promotional tool for his horror flick, Tusk.
The film’s production company, A24 Films, have joined forces with L.A.-based dispensary, Buds & Roses, to bring a truly unique tie-in to those with a medical marijuana license. It’s one of the most out-of-the-box marketing techniques, that’s for sure. Grown by Kushman Veganics, the two strains were repackaged with new names to coincide with the film’s release – Mr. Tusk and White Walrus.
Lastly, what does Smith make of the product? In an interview with the New York Times, he admitted he hadn’t yet tried it, but cannot wait to do so. “This movie was born in a blaze,” he said, “and will be released in a blaze.”
The film received many positive reviews this weekend at TIFF and is set for a nationwide release later this month. In a bizarre premise conjured up on one of Smith’s podcasts, it follows a podcaster (Justin Long) who ventures to Canada to conduct an interview. Things don’t go quite as he planned though, as a seafarer takes him in and begins to make Walrussy demands.
Tusk will hit cinemas on September 19th, and Buds & Roses will be selling the two strains until September 26th.
“Partnering with A24 Films, The World’s Best Ever is celebrating the release of Kevin Smith’s new film TUSK in a multitude of ways. Keying in on the director’s admission that the film “was born in a blaze” the TWBE Ideas division has created packaging inspired by the film for two strains of medicinal marijuana. Named ‘Mr. Tusk’ and ‘White Walrus’, these brands of pot have been grown by Kushman Veganics for Buds & Roses, one of Los Angeles’s oldest and most respected medical-marijuana dispensaries. Accompanying this in-store promotion, limited edition herb grinders bearing the Tusk logo will be given away to patients of the dispensary and fans of the film, so that they have a daily reminder of the soul crushing spirit of the film’s main antagonist, Howard Howe. And what would all of this be without a user-generated contest? Until the release of the Tusk on September 19th, we’ll be asking fans to submit to instagram their best pictures of #WalrusBreath, optimally described as “the act of creating tusks by blowing smoke or vapor out of one’s nostrils.”