That Pine Bros. Ad ft. Waka Flocka Flame Really Outdid Itself During the AMAs

The cough drop company Pine Bros. made infamous history recently with their airing of an ad featuring Waka Flocka Flame and making
strong cannabis innuendo. The ad was banned on CBS and NBC, but aired by ABC during
the American Music Awards, instantly becoming a viral sensation.

Previously the company has appeared fairly conservative— with
Martha Stewart as their go-to icon and the face of the company— but this time
they decided to go with an edgier and more relevant spokesperson. The company
was rumored to have been paying Stewart $1 million a year, and offered Flocka
$50,000.

The ad in question features a goofy-faced Flocka sitting on
a couch next to an innocuous cloud of smoke. This could at first be mistaken
for vapor steam, but then at the end Flocka looks at it knowingly and says, “Next
time you need some throat relief — for whatever reason — get your Pine
Brothers,” erasing any previous doubts about the mysterious substance.

The commercial is playful and harmless, but was obviously a
bit too much for some major networks. Pine Bros. commented on their new choice
happily, stating that, “We just like to change up our creative every year, and
Waka couldn’t be more different. We got a lot of pushback from NBC and CBS.
They’re in the Stone Age, because there is nothing offensive about the ad.”

Flocka commented that he was overjoyed with this new
popularity, saying, “I think it’s pretty great that everyone is talking about
Waka Flocka Flame’s moment during the American Music Awards and I wasn’t even
at the show.”

While this ad hit a snag, the banning actually made it more
popular, and caused it to go viral online. With Flocka as the face of their
branding for at least another year and all of the recent cannabis support, they
are bound to come out with some more great promotions.