In a bold move that set the advertising world ablaze, The Martin Agency facilitated a viral partnership between Solo Stove and Snoop Dogg that blurred the lines between joke and genius. In November 2023, Snoop tricked the internet into thinking he was giving up smoke to announce a brand partnership with Solo Stove, and a firestorm ensued.
The brand continues to work with Snoop in their new “Blunt Marketing” campaign, where Snoop unabashedly embraces the sale—and the team told us that Snoop has been the perfect brand collaborator through both campaigns.
Team members Elizabeth Paul (Strategy, 2007), EVP and Chief Brand Officer, and Mik Manulik, VP and Group Creative Director, recently visited Brandcenter to discuss both campaigns with our students. They walked us through some behind-the-scenes aspects like their strategy, insights, and results, in addition to detailing how Snoop was the ideal collaborator.
The beginning of Solo + Snoop started with a mischievous claim in late 2023: Snoop Dogg, famously associated with smoke, announced that he was giving it up. The internet took the bait and went wild, but the truth was revealed a few days later—it was all a cheeky nod to Solo Stove’s smokeless fire pits and a new partnership with the celebrity. The entire thing went viral in December, and stirred up a ton of conversation and hot takes amongst ad industry professionals. It seemed to be a love or hate response. The copywriter behind the project, Chase Zreet joked on Linkedin “December LinkedIn: you made the best ad ever. January LinkedIn: you made the worst ad ever.”
But the end results don’t lie. After the noise died down and the results were analyzed, there were some impressive stats. Solo Stove had garnered over $100 million in earned media, over 10K unique media placements, and an astonishing 19.5 billion impressions. The stunt resulted in the brand’s best four weeks of fire pit sales, and they saw a steady 31% increase in units sold.
Elizabeth and Mik affirm that the campaign found success because the partnership between Snoop Dogg and the product was authentic, a true collaboration as opposed to a transaction. Not only is Snoop the number one celebrity that comes to mind with the word “smoke,” but “the man is a genius,” Elizabeth said. He crosses demographics and subcultures and had the mischievous nature to pull off their ideas. They emphasized how incredible he was in front of the camera too, ad libbing new lines while roasting his first ever marshmallow. Apparently copywriter Zreet wondered at times “why did I even write any words?”
While the first phase was about creating top-of-funnel buzz, the second phase, dubbed “Blunt Marketing,” is focused on converting that attention into a further increase in sales. Launched just a few weeks ago, this new effort targets lower funnel activities, turning awareness into action. The campaign continues to leverage Snoop’s personality, but this time the content is more direct. In a new spot, Snoops says directly to the viewer, “I’ll be even more blunt. I’m here because you’re more likely to buy this fire pit because I’m Snoop.” The satisfying ring of cash registers ding and graphics featuring Snoop and the words “Buy Now” flash on the screen. For social, they’ve created many deliverables including “stitch incoming” videos—short, sharp marketing assets featuring Snoop, that influencers and vloggers then use to deliver specific messages tailored to different channels. As the campaign is so new, the results aren’t in yet, but the groundwork is set for continued success.
During a Q&A after their talk, Elizabeth and Mik hit on broader trends in indie marketing. They pointed to ideas from brands like Liquid Death as proof that audiences appreciate humor and bold ideas more than advertisers sometimes assume. For creative directors, Mike said a “dumb” idea can sometimes be the highest compliment, signaling that an idea is simple enough to cut through the noise while staying true to the brand.
Mik also touched on the role of a Creative Director, talking about fostering your team’s creativity while taking in the bigger picture—“Is the idea simple? Does it fit the brand?” This balance of creativity and brand alignment is key to success. And Elizabeth added a sage (and fun) piece of advice. She promotes always bringing one wild idea into the mix when you’re pitching to clients. Have two or three ideas that solidly fit the brief, and then throw in a wild card —it could be the next breakthrough moment.
Elizabeth Paul and Mik Manulik