Heads Up: 🔥 There’s no smoke without fame

This campaign lit up the internet. And it’s a strong reminder of a sobering fact about advertising.

The Brief:

Solo Stove, a smokeless fire pit brand, wanted to drive mass awareness and sales ahead of the winter season. Their challenge? Competing in a crowded market full of fire pits that all look and sound the same.

The Campaign:

In November 2023, Snoop Dogg (a well known rapper) posted cryptically that he was “giving up smoke,” which quickly went viral. A few days later, the twist was revealed: he’d partnered with Solo Stove — a smokeless fire pit company — and was referring to literal smoke, not cannabis. A follow-up ad with Warren G clarified things in blunt ‘tongue-in-cheek’ style.

The Snoop twist was a masterclass in headline-making.

I’d argue that this ad isn’t great; it’s kind of random and feels lazy. But it really worked!

Results

Solo Stove saw a 40% spike in web traffic, a 60% increase in brand searches, and viral attention that would’ve cost millions of dollars via traditional media buys.

Why does it stand out?

✅ Mental availability: The brand made itself easier to recall the next time you think “fire pit.”

✅ Product and fame alignment: The joke and the product were inseparable. You couldn’t run this for a competitor.

✅ Fame is fame: It unashamedly reached for fame, and said that it was doing it.

What can we learn from this?

Was the ad any good? I’d say, no, not really.

Did it work? Evidently, yes.

So what does this mean? I think it’s easy to forget that one of the primary functions of advertising is fame. I’m a big advocate for thoughtful, creative work — not because it’s clever, but because it helps make ideas more famous. Ultimately, the job is attention. In Paul Feldwick’s brilliant book, ‘Why Does the Pedlar Sing?’ (video summary of the book you might enjoy), he presents compelling evidence that the most effective advertising campaigns are those that generate the highest levels of mental availability and public recognition. And one route to fame? A familiar face.

That doesn’t mean we all need celebrities in our campaigns. But it does remind us that being noticed and remembered must come before being understood. Once we’ve earned attention, we can educate, persuade, and deepen engagement. But if no one’s looking, even the smartest message risks going unheard.

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Heads Up Challenge: If you change your focus to fame, how would it change your campaigning idea?

(Copy the below into a working document that you can use for the challenge each week)

Your Brief:

Idea 1:

Idea 2:

Idea 3:

Set aside a weekly 15 minute slot to complete these weekly creative tasks and why not schedule a call with others on your team to talk through your thoughts on this topic and share ideas for you to try out?

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