Pubdate: Sun, 09 Mar 2014
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2014 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Note: Prints only very short LTEs.
Author: Donna Goodison

POT TV AD SQUELCHED

Comcast Says No to Marijuana Commercial

The first medical marijuana commercial slated to run on television in 
Massachusetts next month has vaporized - at least when it comes to 
airing through Comcast.

The ad failed to make its debut this past week in New Jersey because 
Comcast Spotlight, the advertising sales division of Comcast, 
rejected the ad as unsuitable.

"All commercials are subject to final review by Comcast Spotlight 
prior to airing and during that process it was determined that the 
spot did not meet our guidelines," Comcast spokesman Steven Restivo 
said yesterday.

MarijuanaDoctors.com - a website owned by New Yorkbased Medical 
Cannabis Network that pairs patients with doctors willing to 
prescribe medical marijuana - had told the Herald on Feb. 28 and 
media outlets across the country that it had booked the Comcast 
airtime and the ad would run in New Jersey starting March 3 on cable 
networks including A&E, Bravo, CNN, Discovery, ESPN and Fox News.

It said the commercial would air in Massachusetts around April 20, 
which is known as "4/20 day" in cannabis culture, a day on which 
smoking pot is celebrated.

A Comcast Spotlight spokeswoman also had confirmed that the 
first-in-the-Northeast commercial would air.

"MarijuanaDoctors.com announced the campaign would launch on March 1 
and, to the best of their knowledge, it was running in New Jersey," 
MarijuanaDoctors.com spokeswoman Janet Falk said yesterday via email. 
"On Friday ... the executives received information that the campaign 
was not launched." Falk said the company planned to speak with 
Comcast tomorrow to "learn more about the situation."

But MarijuanaDoctors.com's advertising agency knew last Monday that 
the ad still was under review and was informed Thursday that it was rejected.

Comcast Spotlight previously approved medical marijuana ads to air 
after 10 p.m. in other parts of the country, but those ads were shot 
in a clinical setting.

MarijuanaDoctors.com's commercial, available on YouTube, shows a 
back-alley "dealer" selling the "best sushi" from inside his jacket 
with the voiceover: "You wouldn't buy your sushi from this guy, so 
why would you buy your marijuana from him?"

The website plans to launch its Massachusetts campaign in April as 
planned, according to Falk.

"MarijuanaDoctors.com has been approached directly by several TV 
stations and cable networks regarding advertising in Massachusetts," she said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom