Dive Brief: 

• Jack in the Box announced it is reintroducing its Pineapple Express Shake as part of a new campaign, dubbed “Jack’s Edible Assortments,” timed to 4/20, a popular holiday celebrating weed culture, according to details shared with Marketing Dive. 
• To promote the effort, the chain on April 20 will sell its limited-time shake, piled high with snack foods, from food trucks stationed across California. The company also partnered with mobile app WeedMaps to help consumers locate the trucks or a Jack in the Box location to purchase the shake for the price of $4.20.
• Other aspects of the campaign include paid and organic social media activations and a shoe collaboration with lifestyle brand Hypebeast. The latest campaign builds on previous efforts by the chain surrounding the holiday.

Dive Insight:

Jack in the Box is again showing its support for weed culture with its latest campaign, reintroducing its Pineapple Express milkshake that was offered for last year’s celebration in a nod to the stoner-comedy classic by the same name. Alluding to the “Jack’s Edible Assortments” campaign title, the shake will also be topped with an assortment of snacks, including popcorn chicken, onion rings, tiny tacos and more.

To promote the effort, the chain is stationing food trucks in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco on April 20, with the first 100 people at each food truck offered the Pineapple Express Shake for free. Additionally, the trucks will also offer a Red Bull-infused twist on the milkshake. 

To help consumers find the trucks, Jack in the Box created custom landing pages for each of the three food truck locations on WeedMaps, an app typically used to connect users to local dispensaries. The effort, billed as the first-of-its-kind for the mobile app, will advertise the effort from April 16-19 and allow users to set reminders in the app before revealing each truck’s exact location on April 20. 

Consumers outside the scope of the food trucks can also purchase the Pineapple Express Shake at their nearest participating Jack in the Box location for $4.20, though the munchies assortment will be excluded. The effort, made with creative agency TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, is meant to strengthen the presence of its brand mascot, Jack Box, self-titled by the chain as its “fearless CEO.” Additional promotional efforts will include social media activations, including placements within TikTok.

Jack in the Box certainly isn’t the first brand looking to capitalize on 4/20 hype. Last year, restaurant brands Wingstop, TGI Fridays and Another Wing unveiled similar efforts. Along with Jack in the Box’s Pineapple Express Shake, the chain last year also pledged to plant a tree for every shake sold, expressing that “Jack Loves Trees,” a euphemism for marijuana.