Waka Flocka Flame is mostly known for his rapping, but recently lozenge company Pine Bros. helped the rapper to expand his career goals somewhat, signing him on to star in a brand new commercial for the cough drop brand. The commercial premiered this weekend and has since apparently been banned in certain areas for alluding to marijuana use. Check out the ad, below.
The ad starts out innocuously enough. We are brought into a nice looking suburban home. Inside, Waka Flocka Flame sits in a couch, telling viewers about how he deals with sore throats when he gets them. Obviously, the answer is Pine Bros. throat lozenges, but as he continues to talk about the awesome properties of the sore throat reliever, smoke pours through his home, blurring our clear view of the living space. The rapper’s been a big fan of marijuana for quite some time (he even “hired” Seth Rogen as his official blunt roller), and even though Pine Bros. are using what looks to be a smoke machine in the video, it’s clear what throat pain the rapper and the lozenges company are alluding to.
The commercial aired during the American Music Awards Sunday night, and since then has spurred a little bit of controversy. According to Waka Flocka Flame and Pine Bros. social media pages, apparently by Boston’s WBZ station, which happens to be the local CBS affiliate in the area, has already banned the commercial from airing. While WBZ subscribers may not get to see the commercial on the airwaves anymore, it has already blown up all over the internet, putting Pine Bros. on the map. Take that Ricola.
Although the Pine Bros. ad alluding to pot use is a little edgier than a lot of the advertisements we see on television, it doesn’t seem that much different than using sex to sell Carl’s Jr. burgers. Pine Bros. saw a potential audience and tapped in, much to the delight of a bunch of internet users. In fact, it’s not so different than the Wonderful Pistachios Snoop Dogg commercial that alluded to Snoop's infamous drug use earlier this year.
All in all, the Pine Bros. commercial seems fairly tame, but like marijuana, some people will likely stomach it better than others.
