Snoop Dogg got us all good.
The beloved rapper had fans—and frankly, the whole world including serious news outlets like the BBC and the Los Angeles Times—absolutely reeling from the announcement that he was "giving up smoke."
This vague phrasing was designed to trick us into thinking the musician, known for his deep-seated love of the Mary Jane, was giving up on his weed-smoking habit. This—coming from someone who once admitted to smoking 81 blunts a day, and has a literal song called "Smoke Weed Everyday"—felt unexpected to say the least. I mean, I know several people who had to go through a real process of grieving the end of an era following the news.
Anyway, Snoop isn't giving up cannabis after all: He has merely teamed up with Solo Stove, a brand of state-of-the-art fire pit that doesn't emit smoke.
"I have an announcement. I'm giving up smoke," the rapper says in a video released on Monday.
He continues, "I know what you're thinking: 'Snoop! Smoke is kinda your whole thing!' But I'm done with it. Done with the coughing and my clothes smellin' all sticky-icky. I'm goin' smokeless."
At this point the camera pans out to show his fire pit blazing in front of him. "Solo Stove fixed fire," Snoop says. "They take out the smoke. Clever."
The end of the ad shows the rapper roasting a giant marshmallow on a stick while laughing at the subterfuge.
Snoop Dogg reveals his ‘giving up smoke’ announcement was for a stove ad. pic.twitter.com/RQ2aSE9foHNovember 20, 2023
Commenters were floored by this incredible marketing trick.
"this might actually be the greatest marketing idea of all time," one person wrote, and yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if it were being studied in college marketing classes the world over as we speak.
"It was just an ad. HE IS OUR SNOOP DOGG," wrote someone who was clearly relieved not to have to adapt to a brave new world.
Others were less forgiving, with one person writing, "So he lied." To be fair, it was more of a lie by omission that he knew would come to light just days later, but still, point taken.
